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RIVERSIDE TEXTBOOKS 
IN EDUCATION 

EDITED BY ELLWOOD P. CUBBERLEY 

PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION 
LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY + 



DIVISION OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 

UNDER THE EDITORIAL DIRECTION 

OF ALEXANDER INGLIS 

PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION 
HARVARD UNIVERSITY 



SILENT AND ORAL 
READING 

A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF METHODS 

BASED ON THE MOST RECENT 

SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS 

BY 

CLARENCE R. STONE 

PRINCIPAL OF THE GARDENVILLE SCHOOL, ST. LOUIS 
INSTRUCTOR IN THE PSYCHOLOGY AND PEDAGOGY OF READING 
' HARRIS TEACHERS COLLEGE, ST. LOUIS 




HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO 

($be tttoer£ibe press Cambridge 



u 






COPYRIGHT, I922, BY CLARENCE R. STONE 
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 



X*C Q 



Wit a&ftjerjffoe £re*tf 

CAMBRIDGE i MASSACHUSETTS 
PRINTED XN THE U.S.A. 

MAR -6 I922 
§)CLA654839 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 

The study in teaching method in one of the fundamental 
elementary-school subjects, represented by the present vol- 
ume in this series of textbooks, is a product of the new sci- 
entific study of education which in the past decade has begun 
a complete reorganization of our teaching procedure. It rep- 
resents a new type of procedure in teaching method, the 
emphasis being shifted from theorizing about the teaching 
of reading to accurate determination of progress in the differ- 
ent elements that enter into the acquiring of the fundamental 
and rathe? difficult art of learning to read, and to use reading 
as a tool. The emphasis, too, is placed on training for in- 
telligent silent-reading and the analysis and comprehension 
of what is read rather than on oral and expressive reading, 
though directions as to this latter are not left out. 

The author has set forth, in simple language and free from 
technical terminology, the essential results obtained from 
the scientific laboratory studies of reading which psychol- 
ogists have in recent years been making, and which throw 
such a flood of light over teaching procedure in reading work. 
With these studies and results from the new pedagogical 
tests as a basis, the author has set forth in the chapters 
which follow the essentials of sound reading method, both 
for beginning and upper-grade work; has explained and 
illustrated how to train pupils for good work in silent read- 
ing, and set forth its importance in the process of learning to 
read; has shown how teachers and principals may test and 
measure reading progress, by means of the new scientific 
tests which have recently been evolved; and has made clear, 
from actual classroom results, how much the teaching of 



vi EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 

reading is an individual and special problem, frequently 
calling for individual diagnosis and remedial treatment. 

The contents of this volume ought to be the common 
property of all elementary-school principals and supervisory 
school officers who have supervisory oversight of elemen- 
tary-school work, and be used by them as a basis for their 
supervision of the elementary-school work in reading. It 
ought also to be used by students in normal schools and 
teacher-training institutions in connection with the work 
in teaching methods and training-school practice. It would 
also form a very profitable study for teachers in service in 
connection with Reading-Circle study. Its simple style, 
absence of technical procedure, and very practical appli- 
cation to schoolroom procedure all combine to make it an 
unusually useful book for the classroom teacher to read and 
to follow. 

Ellwood P. Cubberly 



PREFACE 

About ten years ago, during my early experience as a 
supervising principal, I became convinced that the methods 
in common use in the teaching of reading in the middle and 
upper grades were much less effective than the methods in 
common use in the other subjects. Ever since, I have been 
specially interested in making a careful study of methods in 
reading and in devising and trying out a variety of plans. 
My interest in the development of the technique of handling 
silent-readiug lessons was aroused by writings and lectures 
of Dr. Charles H. Judd, to whom I desire to make acknowl- 
edgment. 

I wish to acknowledge a debt of gratitude to the St. Louis 
teachers who have so faithfully cooperated with me in the 
development of methods and devices. Miss Mary Coogan, 
Miss Jane Gilbert, Miss Lucile Murphy, Miss Annette 
Buehrmann, and Miss Agness Dunsford should be specially 
mentioned. Teachers do not readily realize that their 
supervisors and principals are continually learning from 
them. I am also grateful to Mr. Charles Collins for impor- 
tant suggestions for the improvement of the vocabulary 
and phrasing in the early chapters, to Miss Helen DeWer- 
thern for helpful suggestions on the section on the primary 
grades, and to my wife, Mrs. Anne Lotter Stone, who has 
given encouragement and helpful criticisms throughout the 
preparation of the manuscript. Acknowledgment is given 
in the text to the authors and publishers for permission to 
reproduce excerpts and illustrations. 

Clarence R. Stone 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER I. Problems in Reading Instruction . . 1 
The present situation — The outlook — Oral and silent reading 
— Specific aims — Testing — Content — Motivation — Vocab- 
ulary — Appreciation and application. 
Suggestive exercises. 

CHAPTER II. Practical Contributions to the Reading 
Problem from Psychological and Edu- 
cational Research 6 

Questions for consideration — Sources for conclusions. 

1. Studies as to Eye-Movement. 

Importance of eye-movements — Good and poor eye-move- 
ments contrasted — Regressive movements and periods of con- 
fusion — Longer units per eye-pause — The eye-voice span. > 

2. Rate and Comprehension. 

Rapidity and comprehension — A simple experiment — Con- 
clusions as to rate and comprehension — O'Brien's conclusions 
as to the effect of increased speed upon the comprehension. 
S. Other Factors affecting Silent Reading. 

The rate of silent reading — Factors in the development of 
speed — Standards in rate of reading — A comparison of the 
O'Brien, Gray, Courtis, and Starch rate norms — Oral and si- 
lent reading — Vocalizing and inner speech — Articulation and 
comprehension — Articulation and rate — Visual perception 
in reading — Subjective and objective readers. 

Some facts you should know — Problems for study and dis- 
cussion. 

CHAPTER HI. Teaching Reading in the Primary 

Grades 33 

1. General Statement as to Aims and Methods. 

Relative value of oral and silent reading — Importance of oral 
reading in the lower grades — Oral reading and poetry — So- 
cial values of oral reading — Minor values of oral reading — 
General statement of aims and outcomes. 



x CONTENTS 

2. Problems of the Beginning Stage. 

Early primer methods — The simple-story primer — Other 
slow-approach primers — Blackboard steps — Difficulty with 
the slow-approach type of primer — The Mother-Goose type of 
primer — The nursery-rhyme type of primer — Summary of 
conclusions regarding primers — Relating introductory reading 
matter to the children's environment — Sample primary read- 
ing lessons — Pupil initiative in beginning reading — Phonics. 

3. The Oral-Reading Stage. 

The primary stage an oral-reading stage — Rate in oral read- 
ing — Errors in oral reading — Expression of the meaning — 
The main problems of the second and third grades — Two 
types of oral reading — Phrase-flashing — Audience reading. 

4. Silent Reading. 

1 First grade — Second grade — Extensive reading in the sec- 
ond and third grades — Emphasize comprehension — The too- 
slow group — Increasingly larger thought units — Vocabulary. 
Problems for study and discussion. 

CHAPTER IV. Teaching Reading in the Intermediate 

and Upper Grades 64 

1. In the Intermediate Grades. 

Radical change in method — Emphasis on content and 
major values — Word-study — Extensive reading — Training 
in silent reading and study — Individual differences — 
Reclassification on basis of individual needs — Oral read- 
ing — Summary on intermediate-grade work in teaching 
reading. 
T 2. In the Upper Grades. 

Speed development in the upper grades — Variability in read- 
ing attainment within upper-grade classes — Extensive silent 
reading — What shall be the criterion for choosing literary 
units? — The problems of difficulty and amount — Readings 
in community and national life — Oral reading — Summary 
on upper-grade work in teaching reading. 
Problems for study and discussion. 

CHAPTER V. Appreciation and Memorization ... 80 

1. Developing Appreciation. 

Why we have failed in awakening appreciation — The na- 
ture of appreciation — Appreciation of social values — Ap- 
preciation of aesthetic values — Appreciation of the humor- 
ous — Appreciation of nature — General method for the 
appreciation lesson — General suggestions as to developing 
appreciation — Cautions. 



CONTENTS xi 

2. The Teaching of Poetry. 

A perspective view of the whole — Study by parts — A new 
experience of the whole. 

8. Memorization. 

Method in a memorization lesson — Close association of 
meanings — The method of the whole superior to the method 
by parts — Combining the two methods — Memorizing a se- 
lection — Recall as a factor in memorizing and retaining — 
What to memorize — Lists of poems by grades, for memory 
work — Caution in selecting poems — The number of poems 
required to be memorized. 

Problems for study and discussion. 

CHAPTER VI. Securing the Audience Situation in 

Oral Reading 99 

Types of oral reading. 

Types of Audience Reading. 

Miscellaneous audience reading — Group-to-group audience 
reading — Conducting the group-to-group recitation — Suitable 
books to use for such reading — Dramatic reading — Topical 
audience reading — The "cut-up story" — Illustrated audi- 
ence reading — Reading to the pupils. 

Problems for study and discussion. 

CHAPTER VII. Content Silent-Reading Lessons .112 

1. Need for Change in Reading-Recitation Procedure. 

A poor type of reading-lesson procedure — Why beginning 
teachers fall into such practices — Over-emphasis of oral 
reading. 

2. Oral vs. Silent Reading. 

What proportion of the reading time in each grade shall 
be given to silent reading — Essential differences between the 
oral- and the silent-reading lesson — The silent-reading 
method is more than training exercises — When to use the oral- 
I and when the silent-reading method — Silent-reading lessons 
classified. 

8. Planning the Silent-Reading Lesson. 

Stress the larger values — The problem method — Character- 
istics of good problems — Assignments — Definite assign- 
ments — Formulation of problems by the pupils — Impor- 
tance of problem formulation. 

4. Illustrative Silent-Reading Lessons.* 

A fourth-grade silent-reading lesson — Another fourth-grade 
lesson — A series of fifth-grade silent-reading lessons on 



xii CONTENTS 

Some Merry Adventures of Robin Hood — A poor way to pro- 
ceed — Silent reading and study — A seventh-grade silent- 
reading lesson — Statement of the problem — Solution of the 
problem — Value of such a lesson — A series of five eighth- 
grade recitations on The Man Without a Country — Provide 
an abundance of red-blooded silent-reading material. 

5. Lists of Books suitable foe Use. 

Books as interesting as a dime novel — Lists of books suitable 
for class use, by grades — Silent-reading selections, by grades. 

6. Problems of Illustrative Representation. 

Types of illustrations — Purposes — Correlation with drawing 

— Lesson steps — Illustrating Rip Van Winkle — Units suit- 
able for illustration. 

7. Problems relating to Dramatization. 

An example of such work — Value of dramatization — What 
not to dramatize. 

8. Plans for Individual and Group Reading. 

Group work in silent reading — Special plans for grouping — 
Individual silent reading — A fourth-grade individual silent- 
reading lesson — Use of the room library. 
Problems for study and discussion. 

CHAPTER VEH. Training Lessons in Silent Reading . 161 

Content and training lessons contrasted. 

1. Devices for increasing Rate. 

, Phrase-flashing — Reading under a time limit — Timing the 
pupil's reading — Time records on reading outside of recitation 

— Re-reading for increase of rate — Skimming — O'Brien's 
three types of training for speed. 

2. Plans for improving Comprehension. 

Action sentences and directions — Silent reading and repro- 
duction — Three main forms of reading for comprehension. 

A. Reading to answer factual questions. 

In connection with the cumulative story — In connection 
with informational material — An experiment in factual 
comprehension. 

B. Reading to answer relational or problem questions. 
Training in relational thinking — Proper statement of re- 
lational questions — Considering meaning of words — Ver- 
ifying answers by careful re-reading — Improving the abil- 

' ity to think logically in reading and study — A training 
exercise using the geography — A silent-reading exercise 
with a history text — Substituting silent for oral reading 

/ in grammar exercises. 

C. Training in comprehension of the organization of what is read. 



CONTENTS xiii 

Summing up paragraphs of exposition in study recitation 

— Making a topical outline of a selection — Grouping 
paragraphs — An eighth-grade lesson in outlining — Mak- 
ing running notes — Making and matching paragraph 
headings; group work — Training in reading headings 
in texts and newspapers — Analyzing short and long nar- 
rative units — Training in quickly grasping the central 
thought or the essential total meaning of a unit. 

3. Plans for Vocabulary Training. 

How we enlarge our vocabulary — Vocabulary-problem les- 
sons. 

I. A vocabulary lesson on " The Bells" by Poe; seventh grade. 
II. A sixth-grade vocabulary-problem lesson. 
Systematic word-study — Vocabulary exercises in the Lewis 
and Roland Silent Readers. 

4. The Latest Types of Silent-Reading Exercises. 

A. Motivated drill work in third-grade silent reading. 

B. Exercises developed at Detroit for making reading function. 

C. Silent-reading exercises developed at Cedar Rapids and Iowa 
City. 

D. Types of remedial training work reported by C. J. Anderson 
and Elda Merton. 

Listing words according to ten phonetic rules — Drilling 
on phrases — Flashing of phrases — Building up meaning 
vocabularies — Using paragraph cards with specific ques- 
tions on the back. 

Some points to remember — Problems for study and dis- 
cussion, i 

CHAPTER IX. Reading Tests and theib Use in Im- 
proving Reading 217 

1. Oral-Reading Tests. 

Gray's oral-reading test — Advantages of this test — Limita- 
tions of the test — The Jones vocabulary test. 

2. Hearing-Reading Tests. 

How to test the listening powers. 

3. Testing Silent Reading. 

A. Factors to consider in selecting reading test. 
Necessity of using several tests. 

B. The Monroe Standardized General Survey Silent-Reading 
Tests. 

The content and the type of response in the Monroe tests 

— The rate and comprehension scores — Possible crit- 
icisms of the Monroe tests — Evaluation of the Monroe 
tests. 



xiv CONTENTS 

C. Scale for Measuring Ability in Silent Reading, by May Ayers 
Burgess. 

Similarities to the Monroe tests — Essential characteristics 
of the Burgess tests — The Burgess theory of measurement 

— The pupil's score — What the Burgess scoring plan does 
not reveal — Evaluation of the Burgess tests. 

D. The Gray Silent-Reading Tests. 

The content of the tests — How the rate is tested — 
Gray's measure of comprehension — The Gray tests, 
individual tests. 

E. The Courtis Silent-Reading Test. 

The content — The rate test — The comprehension test 

— Comments on the Courtis test. 

F. The Thorndike and the Thorndike-McCatt Scale for Measur- 
ing the Understanding of Sentences. 

The Thorndike scale — Evaluation of the scale. 

G. The Haggerty Reading Examinations. 1 

The test for the primary grades — The'Haggerty reading 
examinations for the intermediate and upper grades. 

4. Vocabulaet Tests. 

The Thorndike Visual Vocabulary Scales — The Holley Sen- 
tence Vocabulary Scale — The Pressey-Skeel group test for 
measuring reading vocabulary in the first grade — The value 
of a group- vocabulary test in the primary grades. 
An adequate equipment of reading tests. 

5. How Results are improved through the Use of Tests. 
Reading tests as used in one school — The test repeated a 
year later — Conclusions from this study. 

6. Tests with Material at hand. 

Testing neglected — An improvised second-grade silent-read- 
ing test — Tests provided for in readers — The Bolenius Read- 
ers tests — Evaluation of the Bolenius tests — Difficulties 
in testing problematical thinking in reading. 
/. A fourth-grade silent-reading test. 

Questions and answers — Criticism of the test and ques- 
tions — A better test by the same teacher on the same 
selection — Score values of questions in reading tests. 
II. A fifth-grade silent-reading test of both rate and comprehen- 
sion. 

Measuring the rate — Measuring the comprehension — 
Comprehension questions on The Magic Mask. 
** Summary of conclusions regarding testing in reading. 

7. Use of Reading Tests in Rural Schools. 

Factual questions — Problems for study and discussion. 



CONTENTS ] xv 

CHAPTER X. Individual Differences, and Special 

Individual and Group Instruction . 282 

Individual differences in reading ability. 

1. Individual Differences among Eighty Sixth-Grade 
Pupils. 

A study of variability — What these tables show — Special 
classification for reading. ' 

2. Special Grouping within a Room. 
Individual differences in rooms. 

/. Two seventh-grade classes regrouped for reading. 
Classwork after regrouping. 
II. Two fourth-grade classes regrouped for reading. , 
■■ Needed treatment of the problem presented. 
III. How to handle the reading in a specially regrouped second' 
grade room. 

Using reading tests — The reading work of the upper 
group — The work of the slow group. 

3. The Reading Problem in the Special or Ungraded Room. 
Remedial instruction — Individual differences in rural schools. 

Problems for study and discussion. 

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 297 

INDEX 299 



LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES, AND PLATES 

FIGURES IN THE TEXT 

1. Eye-pauses in oral and in silent reading of a sixth-grade 
pupil 7 

2. Silent reading by a good reader in the seventh grade . 10 

3. Silent reading by a poor reader in the seventh grade . 11 

4. Silent reading by a slow reader in the fourth grade with a 
poor quality record 12 

5. Eye-voice span of a poor second-grade reader. Eye- 
voice span of a good second-grade reader .... 13 

6. Per cent of 1831 Cleveland pupils found in each of nine 
speed and quality groups in silent reading .... 17 

7. Rate standards in silent reading 22 

8. The average rate for pupils after training in rapid read- 
ing, as compared with norms reported by Courtis and 
Gray for ordinary readers 23 

9. Improvement in rate of articulation and in rate of rec- 
ognition of printed words in successive grades ... 25 

10. Diagrams illustrating connection between oral symbols, 
visual symbols, and meaning 34 

11. O'Brien's graphs showing the average gain in rate for 
grades IV to VIII, as determined by the Courtis Silent- 
Reading Test 73 

12. Comparison of the amount of oral and silent reading ad- 
visable in the various grades 116 

13. Directions for recording errors in the Gray Oral-Reading 
Test 221 

14. Samples of the Monroe Silent-Reading Tests — I . . 226 

15. Samples of the Monroe Silent-Reading Test — II . . 227 

16. A sample unit of the Burgess Silent-Reading Scale . . 230 

17. An exact reproduction of the first part of the Courtis 
Silent-Reading Test 237 

18. Sample exercises of the Thorndike Reading Tests . . 241 

19. Samples of the Haggerty-Noonan Reading Examina- 
tion ' 243,244 



xviii LIST OF FIGURES 

80. The Thorndike Visual Vocabulary Scale .... 247 

21. The Holley Sentence Vocabulary Scale . . 250, 251 

22. Graphs for the Monroe Silent-Reading Test . . . 256 

TABLES 

I. Standards in rate of silent reading 21 

II. Comparison of the Monroe and Gray rate standards . 229 

III. Credit corresponding to each number of paragraphs 
marked in each grade ........ 233 

IV. Showing records of sixth-grade classes in Monroe-Silent 
Reading Tests, May, 1920 283 

V. Data for regrouping two seventh-grade classes in read- 
ing . 286 

VI. Data for regrouping two fourth-grade classes . . 289 
VII. Record of poor readers in an ungraded room . . . 292 

PLATES 

I. Eye-pauses of six different individuals in reading . . 8 

II. Sample blackboard lessons 40 

HE, IV. How a story may be illustrated .... 150, 151 



SILENT AND ORAL READING 

• 

CHAPTER I 

PROBLEMS IN READING INSTRUCTION 

The present situation. School people are generally- 
agreed that the results in reading in the primary grades are 
much more satisfactory than the results in the middle and 
upper grades. There has been a definite end in view in the 
primary grades. The child enters school able to speak and 
understand a considerable vocabulary. The problem of the 
primary teachers is to train him to read this vocabulary. 
It is generally agreed that this has been fairly well done. 
However, it is being seriously questioned whether the pri- 
mary grades are doing all that they should in training for 
efficient silent reading. Above the primary grades there 
has not been a very definite understanding as to what spe- 
cific values, aims, and outcomes should be realized from the 
reading instruction. There has been a vague attempt to 
develop appreciation of literature, but there is a rather 
general agreement that this has not been very successful. 
For over a decade the psychologists have been pointing out 
the dangers of over-emphasizing oral-reading and neglecting 
silent-reading instruction. Yet, by far the most common 
type of reading instruction found in the schools to-day in the 
middle and upper grades is the stereotyped oral-reading 
lesson. 

The outlook. The scientific studies in education in the 
last decade and the reports of progressive teachers and 
supervisors give promise of a gradual modification of the 
manner of conducting reading recitations in the middle an<J 



2 SILENT AND OKAL READING 

upper grades. In lectures and writings the importance of 
silent reading is being emphasized. But teachers have been 
so accustomed to the oral-reading method that they are at 
a loss, as a general rule, to know how to conduct a silent- 
reading lesson. It is the purpose of this chapter to set forth 
some of the problems facing the teachers in securing better 
results in reading instruction. 

Oral and silent reading. One of the problems perplexing 
teachers is how to conduct effectively the silent-reading 
lessons. Some even advocate that we should abandon the 
commonly used plan of having the pupils of a class all read 
the same material, and suggest that the reading should be 
placed upon an individual basis rather than upon a class 
basis. However, very little in the way of specific sugges- 
tions as to the handling of this type of reading instruction 
has been published. The teacher is also confronted with 
the problem as to which particular units of reading material 
available are adapted to the silent-reading method and 
which to the oral-reading method. Or, to state the problem 
in another form, we find the teacher confronted with the 
question as to whether she should use the oral or silent 
method in teaching a particular unit of subject-matter. We 
are told, as a result of our school surveys, that a large por- 
tion of our middle- and upper-grade pupils read too slowly, 
and that they do not adequately understand what they 
read. The problem of increasing the rate of reading of 
many of the pupils and improving their comprehension is a 
serious one for our schools, and the teacher needs specific 
technique in aiding her to conduct effectively silent-reading 
exercises for training purposes. As to just what the pri- 
mary grades should do in regard to silent reading is also 
important. 

It is also essential that we consider what the legitimate 
values and outcomes of oral reading are. We need to know. 



PROBLEMS IN READING INSTRUCTION 3 

the relation of oral reading to silent-reading habits. Teach- 
ers are also asking what should be the proper division of 
time between oral and silent reading. The usual plan of 
oral reading is to have one pupil read aloud while the others 
read the same material silently. Some have advocated that 
this plan should be abandoned because it furnishes little 
opportunity for an audience situation. It is proposed that 
the oral reader have a real audience without the text in 
hand. We need to evaluate carefully both methods. 
Teachers need devices for conducting audience reading. 

Specific aims. It is generally recognized that there are 
three rather distinct stages of development in the first nine 
grades, the primary, the intermediate, and the upper grade 
or Junior High School stage. It is important that there 
should be a clear and detailed statement of the specific aims 
to be realized in each of these stages in reading instruction, 
that there be a definite understanding as to the function of 
oral- and of silent-reading methods in relation to these aims, 
and that there be an abundance of concrete illustrations of 
recitation procedure in both oral and silent reading for each 
of the three stages of growth in reading ability. 

Testing. Finally there is the problem of testing the 
abilities and attainments of the pupils in both oral and 
silent reading. A number of scientific standardized tests 
have been devised and used. Their use has resulted in 
valuable suggestions for improving the reading work. The 
teacher needs to have the advantage of the light that has 
been shed through these studies. She also needs to be able 
to devise tests of reading ability and attainment using the 
material at hand. 

Content. While the content for the primary grades has 
been fairly well agreed upon and standardized, opinions 
differ widely as to the proper content for the middle and 
upper grades. Shall the content be a distinctly literary one 



4 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

with little or no informational material, or shall there be 
rather large amounts of informational material and a mini- 
mum amount of classical literature? TcLwhat extent shall 
poetry be a part of the content? To what degree shall we 
use semi-literary material for extensive reading to provide 
vicarious experiences? To what extent shall we use the 
short unit, to what extent the medium-length unit, and to 
what extent the long unit such as the complete book? Shall 
textbooks in reading above the primary grades be discarded? 
All of these problems must be considered in the light of the 
definite aims which we accept and in relation to the methods 
and devices that are helpful in realizing these aims. 

Motivation. The problem of securing interest that re- 
sults in effort of a thoroughgoing sort is always a real one to 
the teacher. How shall we motivate the reading lessons so 
that they will be experiences of real and vital worth to the 
pupils, and at the same time develop the reading abilities, 
attitudes, interests, and appreciations which are to be the 
outcomes of the reading instruction? The child upon enter- 
ing school is intensely interested in learning to read, and 
enjoys the oral-reading methods. But in the^ middle grades 
the children are no longer interested in doing the type of 
work that was done in the primary grades. The continua- 
tion of the primary oral-reading method into the middle 
grades has resulted oftentimes in a desultory type of read- 
ing recitation, with the larger emphasis upon pronunciation, 
definition of isolated words, and discussion of minor detail. 
The natural result has been inefficient reading and study 
habits on the part of a large percentage of the pupils, be- 
cause of a lack of motive in the form of definite study 
problems that require vigorous thinking. Securing effective 
and worthy motives for the oral and for the silent reading is 
an important problem for the teacher and supervisor. 

Vocabulary. There are many different problems that 




PROBLEMS IN READING INSTRUCTION 5 

arise in regard to reading vocabulary. How important is 
oral reading as a means of increasing one's vocabulary? 
Some pupils have great difficulty in pronouncing the words 
of their reading selections. What are the best means for 
developing facility in correct pronunciation? In some 
cases the pupil's facility in pronouncing words far outstrips 
his ability to grasp the meanings of words. What are the 
best means of developing a sense of word meanings essential 
to a good quality of comprehension? 

Appreciation and application. How shall we bring the 
pupils to appreciate literature so that they will have a liking 
for the best in classical prose and poetry, and form the habit 
of extensive reading for recreation? How shall we lead the 
pupils to the application of their reading abilities "to the 
problems of occupational, recreational, and community life? 
The problem of teaching children how to study has occupied 
the foreground of attention for a number of years. It is 
recognized that there is a close relation between the reading 
process and effective study. Is it the business of reading 
instruction to aid in training the pupil to apply his reading 
ability to the problem of learning how to study? If so, 
what are the detailed methods and devices by which this 
shall be accomplished? 

The average teacher is in need of guidance, and is asking 
for help in connection with these and many other problems 
involved in teaching reading. It is the purpose of this book 
to render assistance in two ways: (1) by giving the principles 
underlying the solution of these problems, and (2) by giving 
an abundance of illustrations, including descriptions of 
recitations and lessons that will relate these illustrations 
closely to the principles. 

SUGGESTIVE EXERCISES 

1. Make a list of five major and five minor problems in the reading 
r " v instruction for your grade. 

2. Select the five questions in the chapter that interest you most. 



CHAPTER II 

PRACTICAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE READING PROBLEM 
FROM PSYCHOLOGICAL AND EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH 

Some questions to consider before reading the chapter 
1. Does the recognition of words or groups of words take place 

as the eye moves, or during the pause of the eye? 
S. As a rule which gets the thought better, the rapid reader or 

the slow reader? 

3. About how many words a minute do you read? 

4. Will one comprehend better by reading aloud, or by reading 
silently? 

Sources for conclusions. Previous to the decade just 
ended considerable progress had been made by educational 
psychologists, as Huey, 1 for example, in studies of the read- 
ing process. During the last decade a large number of 
scientific studies have been reported. 2 Most prominent 
among these are the studies made in the School of Educa- 
tion of the University of Chicago under the leadership of 
Dr. Charles H. Judd and Dr. C. W. Gray. In addition to 
the data obtained through the psychological laboratories, 
there has come into existence a large body of statistical data 
and accompanying interpretation, chiefly in connection with 
school surveys. It is the purpose of this chapter to give a 
brief summary of the practical contributions of these 
scientific studies to the problems of reading instruction. 

1. Studies as to Eye-Movements 

Importance of eye-movements. The study of eye-move- 
ments has occupied an important place in psychological 

1 Huey, Edmund B. The Psychology and Pedagogy of Reading. The 
Macmillan Company, 1908. 

2 See references, page 50, Eighteenth Yearbook of the National Society for 
the Study of Education, part n. 





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8 SILENT AND ORAL READING ? 

studies of the reading process from the earliest investiga- 
tions to the present time. In reading, the eye makes a 
series of quick movements with very brief intervening 
pauses. The actual reading takes place only during the 
eye-pause or act of fixation. The number of eye-pauses per 
line varies according to the maturity and efficiency of the 
reader. A good reader in the upper grades will make some- 
thing like four pauses per line, while a poor reader may 
make as many as fifteen. The better readers not only make 
fewer pauses, but the eye-movements are of a more rhythmi- 
cal character. The development of the proper eye-move- 
ment habits is one of the most important problems in read- 
ing instruction. 

Fig. 1 (see page 7) illustrates the eye-movements of the 
same pupil in the two forms of reading, oral and silent. 

The dots represent the eye-pauses in each case. This 
pupil is a fairly efficient sixth-grade reader. A larger num- 
ber of pauses per line are made in the oral reading than in 
the silent reading. The duration of the pause in oral read- 
ing is generally longer than in silent reading. Consequently 
oral reading is a slower process. 

Good and poor eye-movements contrasted. In technical 
articles by psychological experimenters, there are now 
available photographs showing the motor behavior of the 
eye in reading. In Plate I x are photographs of the eye- 
movements of different types of readers. 

No. 1 is the photographic reproduction of the eye-move- 
ment of an adult silent reader of moderate speed. The 
Roman numerals indicate the line number and the Arabic 
numerals indicate the number of eye-pauses in each line. 
The vertical lines at A, B, C, and D show the sweep of the 

x The photographic reproductions in Plate I are taken from vol. n, 
no. 1. Supplementary Educational Monographs; An Experimental Study 
in the Psychology of Reading, by William Anton Schmidt, published by the 
University of Chicago, 1919. 



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RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS ON READING 9 

eye from the end of one line to the beginning of the next. 
The average number of pauses per line is seven. 

No. 2 shows the eye-movement of a rapid adult reader 
who makes only three or four pauses per line in reading easy 
material. Note the rhythmical character of the movement 
of both of these. 

No. 3 shows the eye-movement of a poor third-grade 
reader, nine years old. He makes a large number of pauses 
per line. Irregularities are characteristic of this reader. 
Consequently his eye-movement lacks rhythm. His oral 
reading is characterized by a lack of ease, smoothness, and 
fluency. 

Numbers 5 and 6 show the eye-movements of a good 
second-grade silent reader and a good fifth-grade silent 
reader respectively. The record of the fifth-grade pupil 
shows considerable progress over that of the third-grade 
pupil in the number of pauses per line and in the rhythmical 
character of the movement. He made a considerably 
better record than the average of forty-five adults tested. 
His comprehension grade was ninety per cent. 

The main problems in the development of the proper 
eye-movements in reading are to decrease the number of 
pauses per line and to develop a rhythmical movement. 

Regressive movements and periods of confusion. In the 
case of failure of recognition, the eye tends to go back, thus 
making what is known as a " regressive movement." In 
the case of continued failure there may be a period of con- 
fusion. Poor readers have many pauses per line, w^th the 
rhythmical character of the eye-movements broken up by 
regressive movements and periods of confusion. These 
statements are illustrated by Figs. 2, 3, and 4, which are 
taken from Reading: Its Nature and Development, by 
Charles H. Judd. The vertical line in each chart represents 
an eye-pause. The number represents first, second, or third 
pause in the line. 



10 



SILENT AND ORAL READING 



In Figures 2, 3, and 4, the vertical lines represent eye- 
pauses or fixation points. The numbers at the top of the 

/ Z 3 



I matched a ci tlass from tt e pile, and some one 



at th same time s latching ano 



her, gave me a cut 



aero s the knucl les which I hare 



iyfelt I dished 



Fig. 2. Silent Reading by a Good Reader in the 
Seventh Grade. (Judd.) 

lines show the order of the pauses. For instance, 1 means 
the first pause of the line and 2 the second pause. Note that 
the good reader in the seventh grade (Fig. 2) makes only 4 
pauses to the line, and has an even distribution which con- 
tributes to the rhythmical character of the movement as a 
whole; while the poor reader (Fig. 3) makes 10 pauses to the 
line, and has an irregular distribution and regressive move- 
ments which destroy the rhythmical character of the total 
eye-movement. The good reader reads 29 words in 12 eye- 
pauses, while the poor reader reads only 19 words in 20 eye- 
pauses. The eye-movement of the good reader is smooth, 



RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS ON READING 11 



rhythmical, and rapid; the eye-movement of the poor 
reader is slow, uncertain, and irregular. 



76 



across 



the 



knuckles 



r hic! 1 



I hardly felt. 



das >ed 



nut of thedenr In Jo the 



clear £ 



unlight. 



Someone 



Fig. 3. Silent Reading by a Poor Reader in the 
Seventh Grade. (Jtjdd.) 



Fig. 4, toward the end of line 2, shows a case of extreme 
confusion. The child is evidently making the greatest 
effort to recognize the words, especially the word " re- 
minded." The eye moves back and forth, making six 
pauses and involving one forward and two backward move- 
ments of the eye. It is clear, of course, that during a period 
of confusion like this the continuity of thought is seriously 
interrupted, and the mechanical side of word-recognition 
occupies the center of attention. An important problem 
for the teacher of every grade is how to prevent and over- 
come habits of slow, laborious reading of this type. 

Longer units per eye-pause. The rate of the eye-move- 
ment may be increased either by lessening the duration of 
the pause, or by reducing the number of pauses. The smaller 
number of fixations the eye makes in reading a line, the 
longer will be the span of recognition or the scope of atten- 
tion. That is, the fewer eye-pauses to a line the more words 



12 



SILENT AND ORAL READING 



recognized per eye-pause. It has been found, as a rule, that 
the rapid readers who have few eye-pauses to a line, or a 
larger number of words to the fixation, comprehend the 
meaning better than the rapid readers who make a larger 
number of eye-pauses, but of shorter duration. In other 



9 a 



The mc on I md < lisapp earec , and snow < ras 



fallin 



T f 



(Vapidly, an< th » sound o 



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I 



distant chi 



rues 



ndei 



562 3 7» 8 911 10 12 13 14-^ 



Davyth;! 



nr ustb ;past nid i 



ght 



IS tfifildj 



andthatC hr s 



Fig. 4. Silent Reading by a Slow Reader in the 
Fourth Grade with a Poor Quality Record. 
(Judd.) 



words, the most efficient reading is done by those who make 
few pauses and use longer periods of assimilation. The 
important thing, then, is to develop the ability to recognize 
longer and longer units of reading matter within a single 
eye-pause. Specific means for doing this are suggested in 
later chapters. 
The eye-voice span. In oral reading the eye travels 



RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS ON READING 13 



somewhat ahead of the voice. The distance between the 
point of the eye-fixation and the point of articulation at the 
same instant, is called the eye-voice span. This distance 
varies greatly in different individuals. 

Fig. 5 shows the contrast between the eye- voice span of a 



tie 



vr- 

i 
if 



I 1 



is 



she drew! them to the edge of 



Vr- 

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through the 



Fig. 5. Eye-Voice Span of a Poor Second-Grade Reader. Eye-Voice 
Span of a Good Second-Grade Reader x 

1 Buswell, Guy Thomas. An Experimental Study of the Eye-Voice Span in Reading, pp. 
20-21. Supplementary Educational Monograph No. 17, Department of Education, Uni- 
versity of Chicago, December, 1920. 

poor second-grade reader and the eye- voice span of a good 
second-grade reader. The following are the important 
conclusions of Dr. Guy T. Buswell resulting from an exten- 
sive experimental study of the eye-voice span. 



14 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

( Summary op Analysis of Eye-Voice Span 

The relations of the eye-voice span to other factors of reading as 
described in this chapter may be summarized as follows: 

1. There is a positive correlation between a wide eye-voice span 
and mature reading. The average span for good readers is 
greater than that of poor readers in every school grade. 

2. The development of the eye-voice span through the school 
period does not show a consistent increase from grade to 
grade, but is very irregular. The average span for the high 
school is greater than that of the elementary school. The 
average span of the adult subjects is greater than that of 
those from the high school. But some good readers from the 
elementary school have a span greater than most of the high- 
school subjects. 

8. The width of the eye- voice span shows little correlation with 
position in the line, except that the span at the end of a line 
is slightly narrower. A high correlation is shown between 
eye-voice span and position in the sentence. The average 
width of the span at the beginning of a sentence is greater 
than at the end of the sentence by 46 per cent, while the 
average within the sentence is greater than that at the end 
by 23 per cent. These percentages are for all fifty-four sub- 
jects including both good and poor readers. 

4. A comparison of reading rate with eye-voice span shows that 
rate of reading and width of eye-voice span increase together. 
There is a high positive correlation between these two factors 
of reading. 

5. A negative correlation exists between the eye-voice span and 
the number of fixations per line. As the span increases in 
width the number of fixations per line decreases. 

6. Little correlation is evident between eye- voice span and the 
number of regressive movements per line. However, if the 
regressive movements are analyzed into their various types, 
a positive correlation is shown between eye-voice span and 
that type of regressive movements caused by too long a for- 
ward sweep of the eye. As the width of the eye-voice span 

increases, the percentage of regressive movements caused by 
this habit of attempting a long forward movement increases. 
This type of regressive movements must be considered as a 
characteristic of mature reading. 



RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS ON READING 15 

This study shows that a wide eye-voice span occurs in common 
with good quality of reading, rapid rate of reading, a small number 
of fixations per line, and a certain type of regressive movements. 
All of these qualities may be described as characteristic of a mature 
reader. It is also evident from the data shown that a narrow eye- 
voice span occurs with a poor quality of reading, a slow rate, a large 
number of fixations per line, and a larger percentage of a type of 
regressive movements which are not characteristic of good reading. 
These qualities may be considered as characteristic of persons 
whose reading habits are immature. 

The results of the preceding analysis make it very clear that the 
development of a wide eye-voice span is a significant element in 
oral reading. As will be shown later, in silent reading a similar 
meaning-recognition span exists which appears to be closely related, 
in its development, to the eye-voice span. Since the width of eye- 
voice span is a factor of mature reading it should receive very 
definite attention in methods of teaching reading. However, it is 
difficult to find any allusion to the subject in any of the method 
texts or manuals. No evidence can be found that elementary 
teachers in the public schools give any attention to the problem in 
their teaching, probably because no specific methods are available 
for dealing with it. Expert teachers of primary reading have 
worked out a few devices, based upon rapid scanning of phrases 
and the use of familiar material, which they use in their own classes, 
but they say that there is nothing available in the literature of 
reading methods which deals specifically with training for a wider 
eye- voice span. It is not the function of this investigation to devise 
methods of teaching, but it is in place to state that here is a signifi- 
cant factor of reading which is in need of specific training methods. 
The problem is to devise methods which will develop a habit of 
pushing the eye farther ahead of the voice in order that there may 
be an interpretation of meaning in larger units. 

In discussing the relationship between oral and silent 
reading Dr. Buswell says: 

The development of the reading process may therefore be traced 
through three stages. First, the most primitive or immature stage 
of oral reading where the eye, the voice, and the meaning are all 
focused at the same point. Secondly, the more mature stage of 
oral Teading where there is a considerable span between the eye 



16 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

and the voice, with the recognition of meaning occurring at a point 
nearer to the position of the eye. Thirdly, the stage of silent read- 
ing where the reader is entirely relieved of any attention to the 
voice and where the entire attention can be given to the eye and 
the meaning, making possible the development of a much higher 
degree of proficiency. 

2. Rate and Comprehension 

Rapidity and comprehension. Over ten years ago, Huey, 
in summarizing the scientific studies in relation to reading, 
found that, as a rule, the more rapid readers were the better 
ones with reference to the comprehension or understanding 
of the matter read. Since that time there have been a 
number of studies which show that, as a rule, the more rapid 
reader reproduces most completely what he reads. The 
diagram (Fig. 6) on the next page is taken from one of the 
volumes of the Cleveland School Survey: l 

From Fig. 6 we see that only four per cent of the pupils 
have rapid speed and poor quality, while ten per cent have 
rapid speed and good quality. As the Survey points out, 
" These figures serve to emphasize the fact that good 
readers are usually not slow, and poor readers are usually 
not fast." A similar diagram is given in the Report of the 
St. Louis School Survey, with the following comment: 

The average teacher in St. Louis is confronted with pupils who 
might fall in any one or all nine of the classes mentioned. There 
are good readers who are rapid and there are good readers who are 
slow. There are rapid readers who retain much of what they read 
and there are rapid readers who retain little. The diagram gives 
emphasis to the view that instruction to be effective must be 
planned to meet the needs of pupils of various types in regard to 
speed and quality. Some pupils should emphasize speed, some 
quality, and some pupils are weak in both. 

A simple experiment. The following simple experiment 
1 Judd, Charles H. Measuring the Work of the Public Schools, p. 155. 



, 



RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS ON READING 17 



is suggested for the classroom teacher as a means of observ- 
ing the relation between speed in silent reading and quality 





Rapid speed and 
good quality 




Medium speed 
and good quality 


© 

Slew speed and 
Kood quality 




Rapid speed and 
medium quality 


O 

Medium speed aad 
medium quality 


0. 

Slow speed and 
medium quality 




Rapid speed and 
poor quality 




Medium speed 
and poor quality 




Slow speed aad 
poor quality 



Fig. 6. Per Cent of 1831 Cleveland Pupils found in 
Each of Nine Speed and Quality Groups in Silent 
Reading. (Judd.) 



of comprehension. Select a unit of ten to twenty pages in 
one of the reading books to be read by the class silently 
during the reading recitation. Prepare some questions 
upon the first few pages. Ask the pupils to read the selec- 
tion to themselves, and without giving them any further 
suggestions or directions, observe the pupils carefully as 
they read. When the first pupil finishes reading the selec- 
tion, ask all the pupils to stop reading, and report the num- 
ber of pages read. Then ask the class the questions which 
you prepared upon the first few pages of the reading matter, 



18 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

and observe how the pupils who read the largest number of 
pages compare in their ability to answer questions with 
those who read the smallest number of pages. The writer 
once asked an extension class of teachers to try this experi- 
ment, and they all reported that their rapid readers were 
better able to answer questions than the slow readers. 

Conclusions as to rate and comprehension. The teacher 
should be cautioned, however, against concluding that her 
problem is merely one of getting her pupils to read faster. 
While higher rate and good comprehension are commonly 
related, there are many individual exceptions. The large 
individual differences, in rate of reading noted in all the 
investigations, in each grade, probably means that there is 
a speed for each individual above which he cannot read 
without decreasing his comprehension, unless at the same 
time his power of comprehension is increased. If the pupil 
is a rapid reader, but retains little of what he reads, the 
comprehension phase needs emphasis. If, on the other 
hand, he is a slow reader and comprehends well, he should 
be encouraged to read faster. The ideal situation is to 
have the rate and comprehension advance together. While 
the emphasis is being placed upon one, the other should not 
be neglected. The timeliness of these suggestions is well 
substantiated by data in the Report of the St. Louis ScJwol 
Survey. A certain school which had been emphasizing rate 
of reading stood relatively high in rate, but low in compreT 
hension, while another school which had given no particular 
thought to rate, but had followed the usual intensive oral 
type of reading throughout the grades, stood low in rate 
and medium in comprehension. 

O'Brien's conclusions as to the effect of increased speed 
upon comprehension. A very valuable study of the devel- 
opment of speed has been recently reported by Dr. John A. 
O'Brien. With reference to the possibilities of training in 



RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS ON READING 19 

speed, and its effect upon comprehension, he lists the follow- 
ing conclusions : 1 

The present average rates in silent reading in Grades III to VIII 
are needlessly slow and inefficient. 

These rates can be greatly increased by systematic training over 
a period of two months. 

The improvement effected in the first month is considerably 
greater than in the second month of training. 

Marked increase in speed of reading may be effected without 
any impairment of comprehension. 

The setting up of habits of rapid reading does not per se increase 
the accuracy of comprehension. 

To secure marked improvement in accuracy of comprehension, 
special stress must be placed upon training designed specifically to 
secure that effect. 

Marked improvement in comprehension, as measured by the 
number of questions correctly answered, resulted from training in 
rapid silent reading. 

The marked gain in the number of questions correctly answered 
demonstrates the persistence of the improvement in reading rate 
in a changed situation involving a different mental attitude; i. e., 
in careful reading, and in reading to answer written questions. 

3. Other Factors affecting Silent Reading 

The rate of silent reading. A number of different factors 
have been found to affect the rate of reading of a particular 
individual. One's rate will vary according to the character 
of the material. For instance, easy narrative material is 
likely to be read more rapidly than exposition or than poetry. 
The familiarity of the material will also affect the rate. 
A physician will read medical books and journals much 
more rapidly than a treatise on law. In the mechanical 
make-up of the reading material the length of the line, the 
size of the print, and the leading or distance between the 

1 O'Brien, John A. "The Development of Speed in Silent Reading"; 
in the Twentieth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Educa- 
tion, part n. Public School Publishing Co., Bloomington, 111., 1921. 



SO SILENT AND ORAL READING 

lines, are the more important factors affecting rate. A 
long line retards the rate. A line a little longer than -that 
of the ordinary newspaper column has been found to be the 
most advantageous for speed in reading. Medium-sized 
print is read somewhat faster than large print. If the lines 
of print are too close together the rate is retarded. 

Factors in the development of speed. Dr. John A. 
O'Brien, in the study previously referred to, gives the 
following factors in the development of speed: 

1. Practice in rapid silent reading. 

%. The decrease of vocalization in silent reading. 

3. Training in perception by means of short exposure exercises, 
combined with practice in rapid reading. 

4. Familiarity with subject-matter. 

5. Habits of regular, uniform, rhythmical eye-movements. 

6. Purpose for which the subject-matter is read. 

7. Concentration of attention. 

8. Ability to grasp the meaning of contents. 

9. Recognition of the value of the habit of rapid silent reading 
combined with the determination to acquire this habit. 

10. The pressure of a time control. 

11. Individual graph and class chart. 

Standards in rate of reading. A number of investigators 
have reported standards in the rate of silent reading for the 
different grades in terms of the number of words read in a 
minute. These rates are based upon reading material that 
for the most part is narrative in type and adapted in con- 
tent and vocabulary to the grades in which the tests are 
given. They represent the median 1 rate of a very large num- 
ber of pupils of each grade. 

Table I should be read as follows: Gray's standard for 

1 The median is about the same as the average, and means the middle 
point in a series. For an explanation of the term "median" and how to 
calculate it, see Measuring the Results of Teaching, by Walter S. Monroe, 
pp. 29 and 102. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1918. 



RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS ON READING 21 

silent reading for the second grade is 90 words per minute, 
138 for the third, 180 for the fourth, etc. 



Table I. Table of Standards in Rate of Silent Reading — 
Words per Minute * 



Grape 


2 


8 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


Starch 


108 


126 


144 


168 


192 


216 


240 


Gray 


90 


138 


180 


204 


216 


228 


240 


Courtis 


84 


113 


145 


168 


191 







The standards given in Table I are shown in graphic 
form in Fig. 7. Note that the three sets of standards 
worked out by these three different investigators are in 
fairly close agreement. The Starch Standards and the 
Courtis Standards show a regularity of increase in rate from 
grade to grade. For instance, in the Starch Standards, the 
increase in rate from the fourth to the fifth grade is the same 
as from the seventh to the eighth. But in the Gray Stand- 
ards, the increase in rate from grade to grade is considerably 
greater up to the fifth grade than it is above the fifth grade. 
In other words, Gray's studies tend to show that the inter- 
mediate grades are more significant in the development of 
an efficient reading rate than are the upper grades. 

A comparison of the O'Brien, Gray, Courtis, and Starch 
rate norms. It has already been noted that the rate ac- 
cording to the Courtis and Starch norms increases gradually 
from grade to grade, while the rate according to the Gray 
norm increases much more rapidly below the fifth grade 
than above the fifth grade. The O'Brien norm shows an 

1 Copied from the Class Record Sheet for the Courtis Silent-Reading 
Test. 



22 



SILENT AND ORAL READING 



240' 
230 
220 
210 
200 
190 
180 
170 
160 
150 
140 
130 
120 
110 
100 
90 
80 



Grades 
5 



increase in rate above the fourth grade more nearly like those 
of Courtis and Starch than like that of Gray. The main 
difference between the O'Brien rate of increase from grade 

to grade and those of 
the other norms, as 
shown in Figs. 7 and 8, 
is that the O'Brien norm 
shows a much more 
rapid increase from the 
seventh to the eighth 
grade than the other 
norms show. Gray's con- 
clusion l that the rate of 
silent reading tends to 
become fixed above the 
fifth grade does not 
seem to be justified in 
the light of the findings 
of these other investi- 
gators. O'Brien's care- 
ful experiments seem to 
bear out the conclusion 
that there is quite as 
great, if not even greater 
possibility of increase in rate in the seventh and eighth 
grades than in the intermediate grades. 

At least, this conclusion appears to be true regarding 
easy narrative material. Account should be taken, how- 
ever, of the fact that O'Brien's conclusions are based upon 
the comparative results of giving the Courtis Silent Reading 
Test, Form I, before training, and Form III after training. 

1 Gray, William S. "Growth Periods in the Development of Reading 
Ability in Reading"; in the Eighteenth Yearbook of the National Society 
for the Study of Education, part n. Public School Publishing Company, 
Bloomington, 111., 1919. - 













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Fig. 7. Rate Standards in Silent 
Reading 



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W Y YL YH TO 

Fig. 8. The Average Rate for Pupils after Training in Rapid 
Reading, as compared with Norms reported by Courtis and 
Gray for Ordinary Readers 



M SILENT AND ORAL READING 



\ 



Each test consists of a simple story of about third- or fourth- 
grade level. A sample may be seen on page 237. The 
Gray Silent-Reading Tests for the middle and upper grades 
consist of material more difficult than the material of the 
Courtis Tests, especially so in the seventh and eighth 
grades. Whether results similar to O'Brien's in the devel- 
opment of speed in reading material on a seventh- and 
eighth-grade level will result from training needs to be de- 
termined by additional experiments. 

Oral and silent reading. Oral reading is a slower process 
than silent reading, as is illustrated in Fig. 1. The rate of 
oral reading is necessarily limited by the muscular activities 
involved in articulating and pronouncing, while silent read- 
ing has no such limitations. In the primary grades the rate 
at which the pupil can interpret the meaning of the symbols 
is not greater, and sometimes even less, than the rate of 
vocalization in oral reading. But some place in the develop- 
ment of the child's reading ability, probably about the end 
of the third grade with the average pupil, the rate at which 
the pupil can comprehend in silent reading exceeds his 
articulation rate in oral reading. These facts are illustrated 
by Fig. 9. 

Note that the rate of recognition of printed words be- 
comes higher than the rate of articulation at the beginning 
of the fourth grade. In the seventh grade the average pupil 
recognizes words nearly twice as rapidly as he can pro- 
nounce them. Above the third grade, if oral reading is 
over-emphasized at the expense of opportunity for consider- 
able amounts of extensive silent reading, the normal de- 
velopment of the silent-reading rate may be retarded. The 
great majority of scientific students of the reading problem 
regard the oral-reading method as the appropriate and 
indispensable method in the primary reading lessons. They 
also regard its common predominance above the primary 



RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS ON READING 25 



grades to be without justification. Silent reading is the 
form most largely used in life, and the responsibility of the 
school to give the pupils specific training for the develop- 
ment of greater ability in this form of reading is coming 
more and more to be realized. 

It has been found that in the main the pupils who do well 
in oral reading do well in silent reading. This probably 
means that the devel- 
opment of smooth, flu- 
ent oral reading in the 
primary grades is an 
important aid in the 
development of the 
proper eye-movement 
habits in silent read- 
ing. It is important 
for teachers to realize 
the relation of oral 
reading to silent read- 
ing in the primary stage 
of learning to read. It 
is also important for 
teachers to realize the 
limitations and dangers 
of oral reading beyond 
the primary grades. A 
teacher once advised a 
pupil who had some 
difficulty in getting her 
history lesson to read 

aloud during her home study. The advice was given, of 
course, in accordance with a common idea that one com- 
prehends better reading aloud than reading silently. How- 
ever, in so far as scientific studies have been made, the 



250 
200 
150 
























/ 

/ 

/ 








/ 


/ 

/ 










/ 






inn 














50 




/ 
/ 

/ 










/ 

/ 













I E I E Y I I 

Fig. 9. Improvement in Rate of Articu- 
lation and in Rate of Recognition of 
Printed Words in Successive Grades 

The full-drawn line represents the rate of articula- 
tion. The broken line represents the rate of recog- 
nition of words. (Judd.) 1 

1 From Reading; lis Natme and Development, by 
Charles H. Judd, p. 145. 



26 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

evidence tends to show that one comprehends better read- 
ing silently than reading aloud. 1 

Vocalization and inner speech. The natural tendency 
of the beginner in reading and of the unpractised reader is 
toward vocalization. This takes the form of reading to 
one's self in a whisper, or in a suppressed tone. It is not 
uncommon to observe young children reading with lip 
movement and slight vocalization when they are studying 
or reading to themselves. Freeman 2 says : 

Even though a practiced reader does not give these outward 
signs of pronunciation, yet it has been shown by experiment that 
the vocal cords and the tongue make very slight movements which 
correspond to the words which are being read. Not only are the 
words reproduced in some form of inner pronunciation, accom- 
panied by the imagination of the sound of the words or of the 
feeling which is produced in pronouncing them, but we also have 
imagery which corresponds to the relationships of the words of the 
sentence. Although one may, when he has acquired the habit of 
rapid silent reading, slur over the articulation of the individual 
words, yet this modulation of the voice remains, and is repre- 
sented in the imagination or in actual changes in the vocal cords or 
in other organs of speech which correspond to such modulation. 
These tendencies to inner speech are somewhat different from 
those which complete themselves when one is speaking, as is shown 
by the fact that they may take place during inspiration of breath 
as well as during expiration; but, though they are thus modified 
in silent reading, they have an important connection with the 
apprehension of meaning. 

Articulation and comprehension. From the studies thus 
far made, it is not clear to what extent, in training for rapid 

1 Mead, C. D. " Silent Reading versus Oral Reading with one hundred 
Sixth-Grade Pupils"; in Journal of Educational Psychology, June, 1915, 
vol. vi, pp. 345-58. 

Pintner, R. "Oral and Silent Reading of Fourth-Grade Children"; 
in Journal of Educational Psychology, June, 1913, vol. iv, pp. 333-37. 

2 Freeman, Frank N. Psychology of the Common Branches, p. 84. 
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1916. 



RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS ON READING 27 

silent reading, we may decrease this inner articulation with- 
out also decreasing the quality of the comprehension of the 
meaning. It would appear that this would depend upon 
the purpose of the reader. In reading poetry, wherein the 
appreciation depends upon realizing auditory values in the 
rhythm, the melody, the alliteration, or other sound charac- 
teristics, it is necessary to read in such a way that one has 
time to get a clear experience of these characteristics. The 
same thing is true, but in a smaller degree, in reading 
literary prose, especially such as the oration or poetic prose. 
But in reading purely informational material, or in reading 
to get a specific fact, it would appear that decrease in the 
amount of inner articulation through increase in the speed 
of reading would not affect the comprehension. Even in 
this type of reading, though, it remains for further investi- 
gation to determine the extent to which it is advisable to 
decrease the inner speech. 

Articulation and rate. Too great an emphasis upon 
phonics and oral reading, without due attention to train- 
ing in the rapid recognition of words and phrases, may 
seriously retard the development of an efficient rate of silent 
reading. Habits of lip movement and pronounced inner 
speech in silent reading are retarding factors in the de- 
velopment of an efficient rate of reading. Efficient silent 
reading involves «a speed greater than permits of anything 
like clear evidence of vocalization. 

Visual perception in reading. How does visual percep- 
tion take place in reading? Do we recognize words by 
seeing them letter by letter? Do we recognize groups of 
words or sentences by seeing word by word? What are 
the factors that make recognition easier and more rapid? 
What practices in school retard or aid facility in recognition, 
which is the foundation for the proper rate in reading? For 
a full discussion of these problems the reader is referred to 



28 . SILENT AND ORAL READING 

Chapters IV and V in Edmund B. Huey's Psychology and 
Pedagogy of Reading, and Chapter III in Reading in the 
Primary Grades, by Frances Jenkins. Only a brief summary 
can be given in this treatment. 

Huey says, "There seem to be very great individual 
differences, and these depend partly, though never wholly, 
on the methods by which the reader has learned to read." 
The alphabet method of teaching reading presumed that 
visual perception takes place letter by letter. The slow, 
laborious readers often produced by that method would 
indicate that the alphabet method of beginning reading 
tended to hold the pupil to a very inefficient type of recogni- 
tion. Huey summarizes by saying, " We are brought back 
to the conclusion of Goldschneider and Mueller that we 
read by phrases, words, or letters as we may serve our pur- 
pose best." The psychology of reading indicates that it is 
best to assume that the child in beginning reading is able to 
perceive visually in word- wholes, and " that the reader's 
requirement of ease and power in reading comes through 
increasing ability to read in larger units." Studies of eye- 
pauses show that it is rare for a pupil in the first two grades 
to be able to recognize more than a single word at a single 
eye-pause. 

The necessity for the child to acquire a means by which 
he may work out the recognition of new words makes it 
necessary for the school, at the appropriate times beyond 
the beginning stage of learning to read, to bring to his con- 
sciousness such details making up the word as letters, 
phonetic elements, syllables, prefixes, suffixes, a word-part 
within a word, etc. Any one of these may be a unit of 
recognition under a particular circumstance. Studies of 
eye-movements show that it is not infrequent for adults, as 
well as children, to make more than one eye-pause in the 
recognition of a single word. But the most rapid, efficient 



RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS ON READING 29 

readers are able to recognize considerably more than a single 
word in a single eye-fixation. The problem of the teacher 
is to know what practices will develop an ability to recog- 
nize increasingly longer units. 

The recognition of a word through visual perception, as a 
rule, does not take place through a detailed seeing of the 
letters or other parts of the word. After we become familiar 
with a word, its recognition is " set off " by " cues." These 
cues are dominant parts of the word. The consonants are 
more important than the vowels, especially the parts that 
extend prominently above or below the line. The upper 
half of the word is more important in setting off recognition 
than the lower half. " The first half of the word is of con- 
siderably greater importance for perception than is the 
latter half." 

It was found that during a reading-pause there is first an impres- 
sion of the whole word, as lively, stiff, etc.; for example, a feeling- 
reaction to the total word-appearance. This may alone suffice to 
set off the recognition of the word; usually, however, with objective 
readers at any rate, there follows a successive coming to conscious- 
ness of first the high dominant letters, then the low and indifferent 
ones. Small letters adjoining a dominant letter may, by their 
proximity, help in forming a total configuration, and may thus 
come to consciousness as a part of a dominant complex. With 
some readers, however, and perhaps with all of us for many words, 
the total word-form, word-length, etc., seem to characterize the 
word and are apparently the first factors in its recognition. In 
these cases the stimulations from all parts and points which 
signalize this total form, and this general outline, rather than a few 
particular dominant letter-shapes, is the aspect of which we are apt 
to be most conscious in the total recognition. In such cases the 
recognition could be set off by a skeleton drawing of the word 
showing no particular letter-forms, and might well occur at dis- 
tances at which particular letters were no longer recognizable as 
such. 

Subjective and objective readers. The experiments indicated 
that readers may be either of a subjective or objective type. The 



30 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

subjective type is characterized by a wandering attention which 
travels far from the fixation-point, by a large associative contribu- 
tion in perceiving, and by slight fidelity to the outward object. 
Readers of this type apperceive words from the total character 
of the word-form rather than from the dominating parts, these 
latter not differentiating from the whole. The objective readers, 
with characteristics which are the opposite from the above, 
recognize the dominating parts first, and the effect of the total 
form ,is minor. They read a smaller amount at a glance than do 
the subjective readers, but are less liable to error. 

The visual recognition of a familiar phrase, as a phrase, is but a 
repetition of the process described above, the recognition of con- 
stituent words as well as of letters in this case being partially 
inhibited in favor of the total recognition of a larger unit. Larger 
and larger unitary reactions are set off as familiarity makes this 
possible, the same excitations coming to serve as cues for the larger 
recognitions instead of for the smaller, while the earlier processes 
or recognition habits, even when they do atrophy, are performed 
automatically, consciousness ever tending to leave them for higher 
levels. 1 

There has been little published giving the results of ex- 
perimental teaching to determine the effectiveness of devices 
or practices in applying the psychological conclusions given 
in this section. C. T. Gray, after extensive experiments in 
training for improvement in reading, reports as follows: 
" In the light of these facts it may be repeated here that 
without doubt the type of training which is given in primary 
work by means of flash-cards is a very important element in 
the early training in reading." 2 

There are given valuable suggestions in Chapter III of 
Reading in the Primary Grades, by Frances Jenkins, 3 apply- 

1 The preceding quotations in this section are from Psychology and 
Pedagogy of Reading, chap, ni, by Edmund B. Huey. The Macmillan 
Company. 

2 Gray, C. T. Types of Reading Ability as exhibited through Tests and 
Laboratory Experiments, p. 159. University of Chicago Press, 1917. 

3 Jenkins, Frances. Reading in the Primary Grades. Houghton Mifflin 
Company, 1915. 



RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS ON READING 31 

ing to practice the findings of experimental psychology. 
She gives very suggestive details on types of word and 
phrase drills, and types of speed drills. 

SOME FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW 

1. At what rate in silent reading should the pupils in your grade read? 

2. Are you a slow, a medium, or a fast reader? 

3. What is meant by eye-pause? By span of recognition? By inner 
speech? By regressive movements? 

4. For the average pupil, about when does the rate of recognition begin 
to exceed his rate of articulation? 

5. What quality in oral reading is an evidence of good eye-movement? 

6. Repeating in oral reading is an evidence of what type of eye-move- 
ment? 

7. What effect will a decrease in the number of eye-pauses per line have 
upon the rate of reading? 

8. Does the slow, the medium, or the fast reader, as a rule, excel in 
comprehension ? 

9. What length of line is most favorable to speed in reading? 

10. Which is the more important final outcome of reading instruction, 
oral reading or silent reding? 

11. Name three retarding habits in silent reading which pupils tend to 
acquire. 

12. As a rule, are words recognized letter by letter or by the total impres- 
sion of the word? 

PROBLEMS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. For your grade, which is the more important, the oral reading or the 
silent reading? 

2. Is rate in oral reading of consequence? WTiy? 

3. What advice would you give to a pupil who tends to read orally word 
by word? 

4. What methods and devices could be used for increasing rate in silent 
reading? 

5. What effect would proper phrasing in oral reading have upon the 
rate of oral reading? Upon the eye-movement? 

6. About how many times as fast does your fastest reader read silently 
as compared to your slowest reader? 

7. Why discourage pointing with the finger, lip movement, and vocali- 
zation? 

8. Which do you think the more accurate set of rate standards, the 
Courtis, the Gray, or the O'Brien standards? 



32 SILENT AND ORAL BLADING 

9. Examine a copy of the Courtis Silent-Reading Tests. What factors 
in the mechanical make-up of the page would tend to retard the rate? 

10. From a psychological standpoint, which is the better method for 
beginning reading — the alphabet, the word, or the sentence method? 

11. Why is there more danger of over-emphasizing oral reading in the 
intermediate grades than in the lower grades? 

12. Compare the reading content of the Courtis Reading Tests and the 
Gray Silent-Reading Test and report essential differences that might 
partially account for the O'Brien rate norms being so much higher 
than the Gray norms. 

13. Discuss devices for increasing the eye-voice span. 



CHAPTER III 

TEACHING READING IN THE PRIMARY GRADES 
1. General Statement as to Aims and Methods 

Exercises to do before reading the chapter 

1. Write one reason why the oral-reading procedure has been so 
universally used by teachers in all grades with all types of 
reading matter. 

2. List what you consider to be the main values of oral reading. 
Which of these values are common to all the grades and 
which are peculiar to a certain grade or group of grades? 

3. List the two primary methods you think the best. 

4. Do you favor having reading textbooks in all the grades? 

5. Write the name of the series of Readers that you think to be 
the best one. 

Relative value of oral and silent reading. Outside of the 
schoolroom most individuals use oral reading very little. 
On the other hand, most persons use silent reading daily. 
Therefore, the ultimate training outcome of reading in- 
struction is the development of efficient silent readers rather 
than oral readers. Facil ty in silent reading is of first im- 
portance, while training in oral reading as an end in itself is 
of only secondary importance. 

There are occasional situations in life when most indi- 
viduals need to be able to convey thought or feeling to 
an audience of one or more persons through oral reading. 
Training in ability to convey meaning to others through 
oral reading is therefore an important aim of the reading 
instruction. In this respect oral reading has a value as an 
end in itself. 

Importance of oral reading in the lower grades. The 
other values of oral reading may be considered as values of 



34 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

means. The psychological reason why oral reading is more 
valuable in the lower grades than in the later stages is well 
stated by Professor Suzzallo: 1 





Fig. 10. Diagrams illustrating Connection between Oral Symbols 
Visual Symbols, and Meaning 

These show how oral reading of the vocabulary previously experienced through oral 
speech or through hearing aids in attaching meaning to the unknown visual symbols. 

Reading is an attempt to establish connections between three 
factors, the oral symbol, the visual symbol, and the meaning. The 
young child beginning to learn to read orally attaches meaning to 
the visual symbol through the oral symbol in the direction indi- 
cated in diagram (a). 

Oral reading is absolutely essential and basic in the, first two 
grades (roughly), or as long as mechanics are a major difficulty, 
or as long as the child's reading vocabulary is still smaller than his 
speaking or understanding vocabularies. Its function is to con- 
nect the meaning and the printed symbol through the intermedi- 
ary of sound or pronunciation. Before the child can read, he 
already has a connection between the oral symbol and the meaning 
for any word he understands orally, as illustrated in (b). Phonetic 
work aids him to tie the visual symbol to the oral symbol. The 
overlapping of the speech symbol and the oral symbol (derived 
through phonetics from the printed symbol) results in suggesting 
meaning for the printed symbol. This process is illustrated by (c) 
in which v represents the visual (printed or written) symbol. The 
upper o represents the sound element in phonetic analysis or pro- 
nunciation. The m represents the meaning, and the o connected 
with it represents the oral symbol which the child has already con- 
nected with the meaning gained through experience in hearing the 
word. As one oral symbol identifies itself with the other through 
overlapping, the connection between the visual symbol and the 
meaning is made. 

1 Quoted from a letter of March, 1915, in answer to a questionnaire, 
and with the permission of Professor Suzzallo. 



READING IN THE PRIMARY GRADES 35 

As long as this method is followed, all primer reading must speak 
of things within the child's experience through words within the 
child's vocabulary. Otherwise, meaning must be developed as well 
as pronunciation and form recognition. 

The phonetic method grows less and less useful (1) as one can- 
not count on common experiences and common oral vocabularies 
among children, and (2) the more one's basal text presents new 
experiences and new words — often desirable for interest. Thus 
the tendency to drop the emphasis on the phonetic methods and 
develop all three factors in the class period with all three con- 
nections, instead of two factors and two connections as hitherto, 
as in (d). 

Speedy silent reading makes a short cut by making the connec- 
tion directly between the visual symbol and the meaning as indi- 
cated in (e). 

In the primary stage of reading development, oral reading 
has an important value in addition to its value as an inter- 
mediary in attaching meaning to printed or written sym- 
bols. It has been pointed out that the development of good 
eye-movement habits is fundamental to efficiency in reading. 
Until the pupil's rate of articulation overtakes his rate of 
recognition of printed words, the pupil's oral reading is a 
good index to his eye-movement habits. If he has a habit 
of repeating, or if he is a slow oral reader, a word-by-word 
reader, he has not yet developed good eye-movements. 
The development of fluency in oral reading means the de- 
velopment of the ability to recognize in larger units per eye- 
pause and the absence of serious regressive movements or 
periods of confusion. It has been the writer's experience 
that there are pupils in most every intermediate-grade class 
and even some in the higher grades who are still in the pri- 
mary stage of reading development. For the great majority 
of these, oral reading will be of value. There will probably 
be exceptions, especially those having speech defects such as 
stammering and stuttering. 

Oral reading and poetry. Oral reading has an important 



36 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

function in connection with the teaching of poetry and other 
distinctly literary types of reading matter. Poetry should 
be taught by the oral-reading method because the values 
are distinctly auditory, and can be fully appreciated only 
through the ear. But the oral reading here again is mainly 
a means to a more important end. 

Social value of oral reading. Some place great weight on 
the social value of oral reading. In the St. Louis Course of 
Study in Reading we find the following statements in sup- 
port of the social value of oral reading under the plan of a 
reader and a reading audience with the same material: 

There are elements of inspiration in community of attention; 
there is a peculiar intensity hi community of interest; new facts 
are added to the individual's insight by his being a part of a new 
mind-of-the-group. To both the reader and the reading audience 
a fuller conception of meaning results from the cooperation of the 
eye and the ear. 

An incalculable value, from the standpoint of social adjustment 
and constructive social progress, accrues to the group from any 
series of common experiences, especially those that enlarge the 
area of mutual understanding and sympathy, and that tend to 
establish a general acceptance of common standards of quality in 
thought and motive. . . . The opportunity for intimate participa- 
tion that is afforded to a class in reading meetings may therefore 
be made to serve a significant social purpose, for the group and 
for every individual in it, in strengthening their sense of harmony 
and interrelation of thought and feeling, — an essential factor of 
democracy. 

The question arises as to whether these social values, de- 
rived through community of attention, community of inter- 
est, the new mind-of-the-group, intimate participation, etc., 
are dependent upon oral reading. There are no doubt 
situations in the reading instruction under which oral read- 
ing may be a valuable means of realizing these social values. 
However, we know that there is a great deal of reading 
instruction under the oral-reading method wherein these 



READING IN THE PRIMARY GRADES 87 

social values are not noticeable. The writer has also seen 
silent-reading lessons in which these social values were very 
obviously being realized. The social value of oral reading 
depends upon the use made of oral reading, just as the social 
value of any school activity depends upon the way in which 
that activity is managed. Group audience reading has 
large possibilities for socialized study and recitation periods. 
Minor values of oral reading. Other values of oral read- 
ing are its importance in the development of oral expression, 
correct enunciation and pronunciation, in testing compre- 
hension, in vocabulary development, and in developing 
facility in, and improvement of the use of the voice. These 
values are more important in the primary grades than else- 
where. Oral reading is an important factor in developing 
a silent-reading vocabulary as long as the pupil's spoken or 
hearing vocabulary is greater than his reading vocabulary. 
But for words which the individual meets for the first time 
in reading, the experience of hearing these words in class 
discussion or in separate vocabulary exercises, is^ a more 
important one. The relation of oral reading to vocabulary 
growth is further elaborated in Chapter VIII, in the section 
dealing with vocabulary training. 

General statement of aims and outcomes. The general 
aims of reading instruction in the elementary school may be 
summarized as follows: 

1. To develop an ability to read the common types of 
reading matter silently, at a fair rate and with a rea- 
sonable quality of comprehension. Beading is pri- 
marily a thought process, and from the very beginning 
it should be done for the purpose of getting meanings. 
The development of efficiency in reading involves the 
development of the ability to grasp meanings in in- 
creasingly larger units, the development of the ability 
to read with a feeling of meaning and an appreciation of 
values, and the development of discriminative reading. 



38 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

2. To develop an ability to convey meaning or feeling to 
another person through oral reading. This is done 
partly through the usual plan of oral reading in which 
all the pupils of the class have before them the material 
being read aloud consecutively, pupil by pupil. But 
this aim cannot be adequately realized without a con- 
siderable amount of audience reading. 

3. To develop a taste for, and an interest in the best 
types of reading material, and to develop a real appre- 
ciation of literature suitable to the age of the pupil. 
The highest ideals and aspirations of the race are given 
best expression in the form of our classical literature. 
Pupils should gradually be led to an interest in the best 
in classical literature, as well as in the best of other 
types of literature. 

4. To provide an extensive vicarious reading experience 
for all pupils, with provision for individual differences 
in ability and tastes. This reading experience should 
be in the nature of excursions into various fields of 
interest, such as nature, history, biography, current 
events, vocations, sports, etc. 

5. To bring the pupils into contact, through reading, with 
the great ethical ideals of behavior, such as persever- 
ance, patriotism, honesty, love, beauty, etc. This is 
not meant to involve the use of much didactic material. 
The growth of ideals comes through experience. Read- 
ing is an avenue through which the individual may 
experience the highest aspirations and the deepest 
struggles of the soul, in the past and in the present. 

%. Problems op the Beginning Stage 

By the age of six most children have reached the stage 
where they desire to learn to read for themselves, but this 
natural desire to learn to read may be crushed through dis- 



READING IN THE PRIMARY GRADES 39 

appointment if the method of learning to read becomes 
drudgery to the child. The old method of beginning with 
the letters of the alphabet and meaningless combinations of 
symbols was a laborious, slow process, resulting, in many 
instances, in stultifying the pupils' natural enthusiasm to 
learn to read and in forming very poor reading habits. One 
of the main problems of the beginning stage is how to keep 
the necessary attention to the mechanics of reading from 
seriously interfering with thought-getting or interest in the 
content. 

Early primer methods. A great variety of beginning 
methods have been used in primers. There are two leading 
points to consider in selecting a method for the beginning 
reading lessons. Shall we begin with the word method or 
with the sentence method? What shall be the content of 
the beginning lessons? Some primers begin with nursery 
rhymes, others with a story or cumulative tale, while the 
beginning lessons of other primers are about the objects, 
activities, -and experiences in the child's immediate sur- 
roundings. 

Ten to fifteen years ago the beginning lessons in most 
primers related to the child's immediate surroundings. 
The lessons were about the dog, the cat, mamma, the baby, 
or actions such as to run, jump, fly, and sing. Some of the 
primers began with the single word, some with a phrase 
expression, such as " Good-morning," and some began with 
sentences of four or five words in length. The chief fault 
of most of these primers was a mechanical repetition of 
words in succeeding sentences, such as the following: 

The kitty sees me. 
Can you see the kitty? 
The kitty can see the dog. 
I like the kitty. 

In many instances the reading lessons were of uninter- 



40 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

esting content, because of a lack of natural sequence of 
thought from sentence to sentence and lesson to lesson. 
There was unnatural repetition of words in a thought-set- 
ting that was scrappy. 

The next step in the development of primers was to begin 
with some simple experience or activity in the child's imme- 
diate surroundings, and, from a very simple beginning, to 
develop a theme of interest running through a series of 
lessons. The Riverside Primer begins with some very easy 
reading of phrases in connection with a picture story of 
finding a bird's nest. A series of lessons follows, developing 
the story and activities of these birds. A much more natural 
repetition of words and expressions is thus secured. Other 
primers follow similar plans. 

The simple-story primer. During the past ten years a 
number of primers have been produced upon the theory 
that the primer should contain only good literature, and 
that interest will be more easily sustained through the use 
of the simple folk-tale for the beginning lessons. The Read- 
ing-Literature Primer is a very good one of this type. It 
begins with " The Little Red Hen." The title of the story, 
with an illustration of the hen, occupies the first page. The 
story proper consists of eight pages, with an attractive illus- 
tration toward the top of each. The final page is a review 
lesson on the story. The preface to the Primer says: 

Experience proves that all children are interested in and enjoy 
the simple folk-tales. . . . Avoiding the long struggle through forced 
interest, and devious byways of artificial methods, we start the 
child at once into the realm of good, appropriate literature. 

The test of this theory is whether the difficulty of the 
reading is so great, and the progress in getting the story so 
slow, that the children struggle in a laborious effort to 
recognize the words and sentences and lose interest in the 
story. It is interesting to note that in the Teacher's Manual 



ke. Hen Tou.nd ! 



Tke Hen iouvicl a bap of <lour 



Hen "fou.n< 

Hen baQ ... U. 

ba$ Hen • . b 

found H en 



1. The First Two Steps 



- 






p 


baQ 


\ound 


ba.Q 


To u. n d 


lou.nd 


■ Hen 


Tound 


kaq 


Hen 


bi9 


Hen 


H<^, 


, 'ound 


Ken 


^39 


Tound 



2. The Third Step 



The Hen to an J i ba^- 

Ske Tound 1 ba $• 
Sh-e+ried to carrv| il koTnC 
Ske tried to Ciryy it ketselT- 
Ske kernel i tried to car*^ it. 
Tke Hen tried to ca^ it.' 
Tke Hen Tried "to C^rrvj "tke. ba<6. 
Tke Hen "tried to CdTtvj tke -flour. 
TkeHentried to cirru W Inerserr 



3. The Fourth and Final Step 
PLATE IT. SAMPLE BLACKBOARD LESSONS 



READING IN THE PRIMARY GRADES 41 

for this Primer a very slow procedure is outlined in detail. 
By the end of the tenth lesson the pupils progress only to 
the end of page five of the story. The teacher is left to de- 
termine how many lessons to use to finish it. Imagine the 
intense interest (?) the children would have in this story, 
after laboring through it, sentence by sentence, for a period 
of two or three weeks. 

Other slow-approach primers. Other beginning books 
constructed upon the same theory provide an equally slow 
method in the Teacher's Manuals. The plan of work given 
for the beginning lessons in Progressive Road to Reading is 
as follows: 

Order of Development 

/. Oral Work: Development of Content. 

(a) Telling of the story by the teacher. 
(6) Conversation on the subject-matter of the story, 
(c) Oral reproduction of the story by the pupil. 
II. Blackboard Work: Establishing of Relations. 

(a) Presentation and formal reading of the first sentence as 

a whole. 

(b) Recognition of words by position in the sentence. 

(c) Recognition of words by comparison. 

(d) Independent recognition of words. 

(e) Drill in rearrangement of words. 

III. Book Work: Reading of the Story as a Whole. 

Blackboard steps in the Progressive Road to Reading plan. 
The blackboard steps are illustrated in the three sample 
blackboard lessons shown in Plate II. 

Following the discussion of the blackboard work, the 
Manual says : 

When the child has gone over the entire story, sentence by sen- 
tence, in the manner indicated, the book should be placed in his 
hands so that he may read the story as a whole. 

Imagine the relish with which the pupil would attack this 



42 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

story in the book after he has been given it piecemeal in 
drill doses, a sentence to the lesson ! The plan for the Story 
Hour Primer, somewhat similarly, provides for the reading 
of three short stories in five weeks. , 

Difficulty with the slow-approach type of primer. While 
an occasional teacher may succeed in using the folk-tale for 
the first series of reading lessons, it appears that the unit is 
too long and the difficulties too many for the majority of 
teachers to attempt to use this type of primer for the be- 
ginning work. All three of the primers mentioned are very 
good for use after the class has gained some facility in read- 
ing, so the pupils can read the stories fairly rapidly without 
preliminary rehearsal and drill. Appreciative reading of a 
story or tale means a rather rapid reading of it. 

The Mother-Goose type of primer. There is another 
class of primers which use the Mother-Goose rhymes for 
beginning material. The preface to the Natural Method 
Primer, one of this type, contains the following statements : 

This book consists almost entirely of nursery rhymes and of 
sentences in which the words of these rhymes occur. 

Nursery rhymes lend themselves admirably to work in the early 
stages. Mother-Goose jingles and rhymes constitute the child's 
introduction to .literature, and are the natural means by which the 
child may be taught to read. 

The following headings, taken from the first few pages of 
the Manual, give an idea of the method to be followed in 
using this book: 

Lesson 1, Pages 1-4 

A. B. C. 

Tumble down D 

The cat is in the cupboard, 

And can't see me. 

1. Recitation of the complete rhyme by the teacher. 

2. Telling the story by the pupils. 

3. Dramatization by the pupils. 



READING IN THE PRIMARY GRADES 43 

4. Questioning to develop content. 

5. Writing story on blackboard. 

6. Recognition of new words. 

7. Pupils read the story. 

It will be seen that the short length of this unit gives it a , 
distinct advantage for the beginning stage over the longer 
folk-tales used in the primers previously mentioned. 

A nursery-rhyme type of primer. The Merrill Primer, 
another primer of this general type, begins with the follow- 
ing rhyme: 

See-saw! See-saw! 
Here we go up and down. 
See-saw! See-saw! 
This is the way to town. 

The two succeeding pages contain repetitions of the phrases 
and sentences within the rhyme. The following are the 
headings given in the Manual in the detailed discussion of 
the beginning work: 

Blackboaed Study of the First Group 

Playing See-saw 

The use of Picture and conversation; Learning the First Rhyme. 

Playing the rhyme. 

Learning the phrases. 

Learning the words. 

Sentences based on the rhyme. 

Reviews; the vocabulary of Group I 

After about forty words and phrases have been taught in 
rhyme and story by using the blackboard, reading in the 
book is begun. " The reading at first is merely the repeti- 
tion of the rhyme with eyes following the printed words." 
The following is the statement of the plan for lessons on the 
two pages following the rhyme: 

The teacher may, for variety, write a phrase or a word on the 



44 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

board and have the pupils find it on the printed page. Pages 6 and 
7 (really 2 and 3 of the reading lessons), where the same phrases 
and words are found, may be used in this way. On these pages, the 
children may tell how many times they can find Here we go. How 
many times they can find up and down. How many times they can 
find down, etc. 

Do not hurry over this work in the early lessons. Take time 
enough to have the children comfortably sure that they can find lines, 
phrases, and words on these early pages. Experience has shown that 
the transition from blackboard work to the printed book is com- 
paratively easy if the first lessons in the book are not hurried. 
Children will enjoy going back and re-reading the stories several 
times, because they enjoy their mastery of the printed page. 

Take care that the children read by phrases and not by single 
words, and that they read smoothly. Make no special effort at 
expression in reading at this time. If the thought is clear to the 
child he will express it sufficiently well. 

Summary of conclusions regarding primers. We have 
pointed out the change in character of the introductory- 
reading matter that has taken place in primers for children, 
and have shown that the general tendency of present-day 
primers is to begin with either the folk-tale or the nursery 
rhyme. The writer believes that the latter furnishes much 
the better plan because of the shortness of the unit, and 
because the children do not tire of the natural repetitions in 
connection with the rhyme. 

It is seen that in this plan the problem as to whether we 
shall use the word or the sentence method has been solved 
upon a middle ground. Professor Freeman, in discussing 
this problem, says: l " We may therefore conclude that his 
reading, as his speaking, should begin with words which form 
the core of a sentence or an expression of thought." This is 
substantially what is done in the Merrill Primer. The same 
principle is followed in The Riverside Primer, which does not 

1 Freeman, F. N. The Psychology of the Common Branches, pp. 73-74* 
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1916. 



READING IN THE PRIMARY GRADES 45 

begin with the rhymes, but begins with phrases in relation 
to a story about three birds. The Summers Primer follows 
the same principle, but begins with action words and 
phrases such as, sing, run, jump; hop, run and jump; jump 
and run, etc. In all three primers the repetition is a natural 
one. The best practice will involve the use of all three 
types of primers during the first few months, and the intro- 
duction of the primers beginning with the folk-tales after the 
pupils are able to read the first fifteen to thirty pages of 
these three types of primers. 

Relating introductory reading matter to the child's 
environment. The tendency of present-day primers to use 
rhymes and stories almost exclusively may lead to an in- 
sufficient use of reading material relating to the child's 
social environment. Recently a number of commendable 
efforts have been made to supply the defect. The Nine- 
teenth Yearbook (1920) of the National Society for the Study 
of Education contains a number of such efforts, from among 
which the following selections have been taken for repro- 
duction here: 

Reading Exercises based on Children's Experiences 
1. Supplied by Miss Abbie A. Atwood, of Janesville, Wisconsin 

(The Rock County Fair was held just previous to the opening of school. 
The school utilized the children's experience in language exercises for two 
weeks, including telling, dramatizing, and constructing. The result of 
all this work was the reading material.) 

THE FAIR 

1. We went to the fair. 
We saw some cattle. 
We saw some kewpie dolls. 
We threw balls to get them. 
We saw an aeroplane. 
It did tricks up in the sky. 



46 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

ICE CREAM CONES 

2. We saw some ice cream cones. 
A man sold them. 
We bought some. 
They cost ten cents. 
Ice cream cones are good. 
We like them. 



THE HAND ORGAN 

3. We saw a man and a monkey. 
The man had a hand organ. 
It made music. 
The monkey danced. 
We gave the monkey a penny. 
He put it in his pocket. 
He made us laugh. 



THINGS WE UKED AT THE FAIR 

I liked the Merry-go-round, 
George liked the races. 
Helen liked the kewpie dolls. 
Teddy liked the whips. 
Louie liked the ice cream cones, 
Dorothy liked the band. 
Roger liked the policeman. 



Supplied by Miss Elisabeth M. Heil and Miss Clara A. Crawder 

St. Louis 

THE BALLOON RACE 

We saw many balloons. 

Some of them were up high. 

Some of them were down low. 

Some of them were far away. 

Some of them were close. 

They threw out sand to go up high 

They let out gas to come down low. 



BEADING IN THE PRIMARY GRADES 47 

FIRE PREVENTION DAY 

A fireman talked to us to-day. 
He talked about fires. 
He said fires burn many people. 
He said fires burn sheds and houses. 
He said not to play with matches. 
He asked us to be careful. 

3. A lesson following a presentation of a flag to a room 

We see a flag. 

It is red, white, and blue. 

It is our flag. 

It has red and white stripes. 

It has white stars. 

We love our flag. 

It will wave and wave and wave. 

4. Primary exercises from Lakewood, Ohio 

LEAVES 

We found some leaves this morning. 

We found some maple leaves. 

We found some oak leaves. 

We found some catalpa leaves. 

We made a book of leaves. 

It is fun to make a book of leaves, 

THE FARM 

We played we went to the farm. 
We saw some ducks. 
We saw some chickens. 
We saw some cows. 
We saw some pigs. 
(Nine other similar sentences) 
The fanner's pets talked to us. 
The duck said, "Quack, Quack." 
The hen said, "Cluck, Cluck." 
etc. 



48 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

BUBBLES 

I like to blow bubbles. 

The bubbles are round. 

I blow bubbles with a pipe. 

I dip the pipe in soapy water. 

Then I blow a bubble. 

I toss it into the air. 

It flies away and bursts, j 

OUR FAMILY 

This is the mother. 

This is the father. 

This is the brother tall. 

This is the sister. 

This is the baby. 

Oh, how we love them all. 

Pupil initiative in beginning reading. The school often 
fails to provide properly for the pupils' initiative in begin- 
ning reading. A. E. Moore has given an account of an inter- 
esting experiment in the use of children's initiative. 1 The 
experiment was carried on with a small class in the kinder- 
garten. The following is an outline of the reading activities 
carried on: 

1. Reading children's names in print on cards on back of kinder- 
garten chairs and on lockers. 

2. Reading names of colors on crayola boxes. 

3. Matching names and colors. Similar puzzle matching involv- 
ing recognition of words, phrases, and sentences. 

4. Making and using signs in correlation with building projects 
such as — For Rent, Bank, Keep Out. 

5. Reading signs and notices — Rush, Please keep off the grass, 
Cars stop here. 

6. Printing by pupils of signs with small type-sets of price and 
sign markers. 

1 Moore, A. E. "Use of Children's Initiative in Beginning Reading"; 
in Teachers College Record, vol. 17, pp. 330-43. 1916. 



READING IN THE PRIMARY GRADES 49 

7. Making individual books, and matching pictures with phrases. 

8. Matching Mother-Goose rhymes with picture illustrations. 

9. Use of Mother-Goose books, especially the Greenaway Mothei 
Goose. 

10. Making Mother-Goose books, and matching pictures and 
titles. 

11. Beginning phonics by matching initials and names or titles. 

In addition to the objective results in terms of the num- 
ber of words learned, the value of the exercise of initiative, 
the value of the recognition of the purpose of reading, and 
the social value, are emphasized. The article offers a num- 
ber of suggestions capable of use by beginning teachers to 
utilize child initiative in a helpful manner. 

Phonics. A summary of the best thought and practice 
with reference to phonics is given in the Eighteenth Year- 
book of the National Society for the Study of Education, and is 
reproduced here by special permission: l 

Independence in the recognition of words should be developed in 
the early grades by means of word-study and phonetic analysis. The 
practice is followed almost universally of conductifig~driirexercises 
in which the basic words which have been presented in reading 
exercises are learned to the point of instant recognition. Various 
devices, such as flash-card exercises, finding given words in sen- 
tences, phonetic analysis of words, etc., are employed. This pro- 
cedure finds justification in the results of investigations which 
have been made of the problem. Judd secured photographic 
records of children's readings and made an analysis of the records 
to determine the results of training. The pupils included in the 
investigation had been trained largely according to the word or 
sentence method, and were supposed to read primarily for mean- 
ing. Instruction of this type had been supplemented by some 
training in phonics. The pupils were selected with a view to 
including the poorer readers and the better readers in each grade. 

An analysis of the records showed clearly that pupils encoun- 
tered difficulties in their reading, and that periods of evident con- 

1 Gray, William S. Eighteenth Yearbook of the National Society for the 
Study of Education, pp. 32-34. 



50 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

fusion occurred from time to time, as evidenced by the fact that 
the steady forward movement of the eye was interrupted. These 
complicated series of eye-movements exhibit a failure of recogni- 
tion to follow its normal course, and suggest that the child was 
exploring the letters in the words in order to recognize the word as 
a whole. 

The foregoing discussion can be translated into the terms 
ordinarily used in describing school methods. The word method 
begins with the assumption that the word is the natural first unit 
of recognition. As the words become numerous and complicated, 
the word method usually adds a plan of phonic analysis. The 
motive of this added analysis is to help pupils to keep out of 
periods of confusion. 

Training a child in the analysis of words may very properly 
be described as training him in the mechanics of reading. Purely 
mechanical training is in an important sense in opposition to the 
purpose of the school in its efforts to make good readers. The 
school aims to reach the level of fluent synthetic grasp of phrases. 
Mechanical training does, indeed, temporarily prevent the pu- 
pil from understanding the meaning of passages. Mechanical 
training would not. be justified if distractions could be avoided by 
ready recognition of words. 

The final conclusions of this phase of the study were that pupils 
should be taught to read for content, that the word should be 
accepted as the unit of recognition at the outset, and that analysis 
or phonetic training should be- introduced later when it is needed 
to keep the word units clear. 

Phonetic analysis should be introduced in special drill periods 
after pupils have begun to note similarities and differences in the 
words which they have learned in reading exercises. It is the judg- 
ment of the writer that detailed studies of words should be made 
during drill periods set aside for this purpose. If such studies 
are made during the regular reading period there is danger that 
attention will shift from the content of what is read to the study 
of individual words. If the basic training in the analysis of words 
is given during drill periods, the information and skill thus se- 
cured can be applied quickly and effectively during reading 
exercises without withdrawing attention from the content of what 
is read. 

A number of progressive schools follow the practice of intro- 
ducing phonics about the end of the second month of the first 



READING IN THE PRIMARY GRADES 51 

grade. By this time the pupils have learned a limited reading 
vocabulary and their attention has already been called to the simi- 
larities and differences between such words as ran and can, cat and 
sat, etc. In connection with the reading lessons the pupil notes 
some of the familiar elements in the new words. A suggestion or 
direction from the teacher leads him to a recognition of the new 
words by combining familiar elements. After the pupil has met 
with success a few times in the incidental study of new words he 
is prepared, psychologically, to begin a systematic study of words 
and their elements. If such studies are introduced with the first 
reading lessons, the pupil does not have the background of facts 
and intelligent interest in words which are essential if words are to 
be studied quickly and effectively. 

What phonic system should be used? This specific problem has 
not received detailed attention in the literature of reading investi- 
gations. It is, therefore, impossible to give a final answer to the 
question. Effective results can be secured with almost any method 
in use, as shown by the fact that there are representative schools 
for each method which rank high as determined by current tests of 
oral reading. Again, there are schools for each method which rank 
very low. 

In the selection of a phonic system there are two general consid- 
erations which should be borne in mind: (a) the sounds of the 
successive elements into which a word is divided should result in 
a natural and accurate pronunciation of the word when the sounds 
of these elements are combined; (b) the system of analysis which is 
used should be so organized that the habits developed in the anal- 
ysis of short words in the lower grades will aid rather than inter- 
fere with the accurate analysis of longer words when they are en- 
countered. 

The danger in phonic drill is over-emphasis in the early 
stages of learning to read. The predominant emphasis in 
method in the beginning stages of teaching reading should 
be on the recognition of words and word-groups, rather than 
with word-forms, and phonetic analysis should be introduced 
later as a key and to help keep word units clear and under- 
standable. 



52 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

8. The Oral-Reading Stage 

The primary stage an oral-reading stage. During the 
primary stage of reading, which comprises the first and 
second and probably the third grade, oral reading is the 
natural method. " The child brings to the reading class a 
fully developed mastery of many sounds and their meanings. 
As soon, therefore, as a pupil recognizes the pronunciation 
of a word, its meaning is suggested to him by its sound." l 
In the general statement of aims it has been indicated that 
oral reading has some value as an end in itself. The pri- 
mary stage of reading is the logical stage for the child to 
learn to read orally. Until the pupil's rate of silent reading 
overtakes and passes his rate of articulation, oral reading is 
a valuable preliminary development in the formation of the 
proper eye-movement habits in reading. The oral reading 
gives the teacher a rough index of the sort of eye-movement 
the child is using. If the pupil is a slow, laborious reader, 
we know that he is making too many eye-pauses, and it is 
very important that he increase his speed of oral reading. 
If he has a habit of repeating, photographs of his eye-move- 
ment would probably show periods of regression and con- 
fusion. This habit must be broken up through practice in 
quick recognition of words and phrases, and through in- 
sisting that the pupil read each sentence without repetition 
before proceeding to the next. 

Rate in oral reading. An important aim in the primary 
grades, therefore, should be to develop an ease, smoothness, 
and fluency in oral reading. Most teachers do not recog- 
nize rate as an important element in oral reading. Gray's 
studies in connection with surveys in several of our large 
cities, involving the definite measurement of the rate of oral 

1 Gray, William S. " Principles of Method in Teaching Reading, as 
Derived from Scientific Investigation"; Eighteenth Yearbook of the National 
Society for the Study of Education, part n, pp. 26-45. 



READING IN THE PRIMARY GRADES 53 

reading of large numbers of pupils, show that there is a wide 
variability in the oral-reading rates of pupils in the same 
half grade. Of course it is not expected that all pupils in a 
class will read orally at the same rate. But all pupils who 
are considered as doing successful work in oral reading 
should read at a rate that ensures the development of the 
proper eye-movement habits. There should, of course, be 
none of the racing type of oral reading. 

Errors in oral reading. Gray has formulated l the follow- 
ing analysis of types of errors in oral reading: 

1. Gross mispronunciations, which include such errors in pro- 
nunciation as indicate clearly that the word is too difficult 
for the pupil to pronounce. 

2. Minor mispronunciations, which include the mispronuncia- 
tion of a portion of a word, wrong accent, wrong syllabica- 
tion, omission of syllable, etc. 

S. Omission of words. 

4. Insertion of words. 

5. Repetition of words or groups of words. 

6. Substitution of one word or group of words for another. 

Sight errors which do not change the meaning of the 
sentence or give erroneous ideas of pronunciation had better 
be overlooked by the teachers, in order not to develop too 
great a word consciousness. 

Expression of the meaning. While pupils should read 
with correct emphasis and with adequate expression of the 
meaning and feeling, there has probably been a tendency to 
over-emphasize " reading with expression." When this is 
over-emphasized, it tends to develop a stress and strain in 
the pupil's reading which leads to a lack of ease and fluency. 
It is important from the beginning to avoid having the 
pupils form the habit of word-reading. If the pupil reads 
with the proper expression of meaning, he will group the 

1 Report of the St. Louis School Survey, vol. n, part 2, p. 1$8. 



54 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

words into thought units, rather than merely call the words 
one by one. This is called proper phrasing in oral reading. 
Pointing with the finger, which the pupils do naturally in 
the early stages of reading in order to help the eye keep the 
place, is favorable to word-reading. In the beginning stage 
of reading in the book, the pupils should be supplied with a 
strip of paper or cardboard, about an inch wide, to place 
under the line being read to aid the eye in keeping the place. 
In the first half of the first grade the pupils should be taught 
to look through the whole of a short sentence before attempt- 
ing to read it orally, and then read it as a whole or by groups 
of words. The first-grade reading must necessarily be more 
deliberate and consequently slower than in later stages. 
Consequently the sentences should be short. As the child 
gains in facility in reading, the sentences become longer 
and the rate gradually increases. Reading with meaning 
necessitates the proper grouping of words in reading, which 
means a higher rate of eye-movement and of oral reading 
than occurs in reading which consists in the mere calling 
of words. 

The main problems of the second and third grades. By 
the time the child enters the second grade he has learned to 
read a vocabulary of a few hundred words, has gained some 
ability in working 'out new words, and can read independ- 
ently, with a fair degree of ease and fluency, simple, interest- 
ing material. But he recognizes only individual words at a 
single fixation of the eye, rather than a group of words. 
Important problems of the second and third grades are to 
increase his easily recognized vocabulary, develop his 
analytical power of working out new words, develop habits 
of eye-movement that will enable him to recognize a group 
of words at a single eye-pause, and provide conditions 
favorable to the rather rapid increase in his rate of oral 
reading which comes naturally following the first year. 



READING IN THE PRIMARY GRADES 55 

One of the best means for accomplishing all of these out- 
comes is to provide an abundance of interesting and whole- 
some reading material. 

Two types of oral reading. It is well to differentiate oral 
reading into two types in order to aim for specific outcomes 
in the development of reading power. Many good teachers 
use the more difficult advanced material for the reading 
work of the forenoon, and the easy long units for more rapid 
sight-reading in the afternoon. In the first type of work the 
procedure is more deliberate. More time is spent in dis- 
cussing problems and meanings, attacking difficulties, cor- 
recting errors, re-reading, and considering the content in 
a more intensive fashion. The pupils make preliminary 
preparation so that the recitation is a second going-over 
of the material. Literary material that requires careful 
scrutiny, " that repays thoroughness of study and discus- 
sion, that challenges thought, arouses emotion, and vitalizes 
ideals," would of course be taught under this first type of 
procedure. Poetry would be taught by this method except 
without preliminary preparation by the pupils. 

Under the second type of procedure the pupils do not 
read the material previous to the recitation. The material 
is easy. The pupil is carried along by his interest in what 
is coming next in the story. The reading proceeds more 
rapidly because there are fewer difficulties, less deliberation, 
less discussion. Each pupil has opportunity to read a 
larger amount orally. This type of reading is favorable for 
the development of the proper eye-movement habits in 
reading. The pupil gains an ability to recognize a group of 
words instead of merely one word at a single pause of the 
eye. The pupil is getting an extensive type of experiential 
reading which it is impossible for him to get if all of the oral 
reading is of the slow, thorough type. 

Under the first type he is developing power to meet and 



56 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

overcome difficulties, learning to analyze and synthesize, 
increasing his vocabulary through deliberate consideration 
of new words, and receiving experiential reading of the 
deliberative type needed in all forms of careful reading. 
The first trains for the study type of reading. The second 
trains for the rapid recreative type of reading. Both are 
needed. Skill is required of the teacher to be able to select 
the material best adapted to each. 

Phrase-flashing. A drill exercise that has been found 
helpful in developing the power to recognize a group of 
words at a single eye-pause, to lengthen the span of atten- 
tion during a fixation of the eye, is phrase-flashing. The 
following are some sets of phrases and short sentences that 
have been formulated and used in one school: 



The boy began 


|j The dog ran 


to walk 


into the yard 


to cry 


in the yard 


in earnest 


out of the yard 


to jump 


through the yard 


in bed 


into the house 


to laugh 


around the house 


etc. 


etc. 


The boy walked. 


Walk to the chair. 


The horse ran. 


Run to the chair. 


A bird sang. 


Run to the door. 


The frog jumped. 


Walk to the window, 


A boy jumped. 


Move the chair. 


The boy rode. 


Move the desk. 


etc. 


etc. 



The manipulation of the flashing is very important, and 
very difficult to do to the best advantage. One way is to 
have the phrases printed on strips of thin stiff cardboard, 
about four inches by eighteen inches. The letters should be 
about an inch high. The printing can be done with a 
rubber-stamp outfit by one skillful in handling it. The 



READING IN THE PRIMARY GRADES 57 

important thing in flashing is to effect a very short exposure 
at a stationary position, in proper position with reference to 
the pupils' eyes. This may be accomplished by placing a 
cardboard about ten by eighteen inches in front of the set 
of phrase-cards, and exposing the phrase-card immediately 
above the screen card. In exposing the card the teacher 
must be careful that the lower edge is parallel to the floor, 
and that the card is vertical with the floor rather than tilted 
back toward the teacher. The pupils should see the phrase 
in stationary position instead of in motion. The exposure 
should be only instantaneous, as a single eye-pause is only a 
small fraction of a second. The idea is to allow time for 
only one eye-fixation. If it is possible to have a stand for 
the flash-cards to rest on, all of these conditions may be 
fulfilled by removing the screen card from in front of the 
card to be exposed and replacing it immediately. In many 
schoolrooms the blackboard ledge will serve the purposes of 
a stand. 

The drill period for phrase and short-sentence flashing 
should be brief, and should occur two or three times a week. 
The slow, laborious readers should be given drill of this type, 
while the other pupils are permitted to read for pleasure. 
Games may easily be devised to make the drill a pleasure to 
the pupils. 

Audience reading. Audience reading should begin in the 
first grade. Most of the reading work of the primary 
grades is done by having all the members of the class have 
the same material before them. It is difficult if not impossi- 
ble to have the pupils feel a real audience situation under 
this condition. After the child has gained some facility in 
reading, he should have experience in reading material to 
the class which the class does not have in hand, in order 
to develop a consciousness on the part of the child that the 
ultimate function of oral reading is to read something to 



58 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

somebody. It is very natural for the child, if he does not 
have experience in reading under a real audience situation, 
to develop habits which entirely overlook the idea of con- 
veying the content of the reading matter to some one. We 
realize this later when we have a pupil attempt to read 
something to the class. The proportion of the audience- 
reading to the non-audience reading should be gradually 
increased from grade to grade. Detailed methods and 
devices for audience reading are given in the chapter on 
"Audience Reading." 

4. Silent Reading 

Certain points with reference to silent reading in the first 
two grades should be emphasized here. 

First grade. While the primary grades constitute pri- 
marily an oral-reading stage, the use of the silent-reading 
method should be introduced toward the middle of the first 
grade, and its use gradually increased. The easiest way to 
begin the silent-reading work is through the use of action 
sentences, such as " Roll the ball." In this type of work the 
child does not read the sentence orally. He reads it silently, 
and then does what he thinks the sentence says. There are 
a number of primers which have lessons of this type, but 
unfortunately, teachers have not generally recognized the 
advantage of differentiating the handling of these lessons 
by omitting the oral reading. Even when these lessons are 
headed " For Silent Reading and Acting," most teachers 
use the oral-reading procedure. Material for this type of 
reading is given in Chapter VII. 

Second grade. In the second grade the teacher should 
begin to get a rather definite measure of the pupil's rate of 
silent reading, and of his ability to comprehend what he has 
read without the assistance of oral reading. The Barnes 
Second Reader provides definitely for both, and the Teacher's 



READING IN THE PRIMARY GRADES 59 

Manual gives the detail as to how to use the silent-reading 
lessons. The riddle and the fable are the types of material 
used in these lessons. Kendall and Mirick say: 

There should be frequent exercises in silent reading, not followed 
by oral reading, but by spirited questioning that does not go too 
much into detail. Its aim is to bring out the salient points, to 
make sure that the silent reading has given a grasp of the selection 
as a whole. 1 

In the volume just quoted from above, the authors say, 
regarding habits of study: 

The work that a pupil does at his seat is no less important than 
what he does in class. The habits of study formed in these early 
years will certainly either help or retard his future student life. 
The teacher must not be misled into the belief that the pupils will 
naturally apply in their study the good methods of work that are 
employed in the recitation period. . . . The teacher will then need 
to teach the pupils how to set tasks for themselves. Some of the 
following suggestions may be helpful: 

Make a list of new words Tell how many incidents it con- 

Of the people in the story tains 

Of words hard to pronounce Compare it with another story 

Of words hard to spell and give reasons for preferring 

Of places in the story one or the other 

Of birds, flowers, or trees Tell which person you like best, 

Suggest a different title for the and give reason 
story 

Extensive reading in the second and third grades. In 
the second and third grades, in addition to the silent reading 
the pupils do, for specific purposes, during study and recita- 
tion periods, they should do a considerable amount of silent 
reading merely for the pleasure of it. This may be done 
during the spare time in school and at home. Each room 
should be supplied with a miscellaneous set of easy, attrac- 
tive reading books for this purpose. Both from the stand- 

1 Kendall and Mirick. How to Teach the Fundamental Subjects, pp. 31-32. 
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1915. 



60 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

point of developing the proper reading habits and abilities, 
and from the standpoint of providing valuable educational 
experience, there should be considerable amounts of rapid 
extensive reading during these grades. 

Emphasize comprehension. Comparison of results in 
Cleveland and St. Louis show clearly that there is danger in 
over-emphasizing agility in reading difficult material aloud, 
without the proper emphasis upon the comprehension of 
what is read. 1 Scientific studies, as well as the experience 
of teachers, indicate that it is not an uncommon thing for 
facility in phonetic analysis and articulation to outrun 
comprehension. These facts emphasize the importance of 
gradually increasing the time devoted to reading instruction 
under silent reading methods in the second and third grades. 
But under both methods the " thought getting " process 
must be continually emphasized. On this point the St. 
Louis Course of Study in Reading says : 

Indeed it should be a specific purpose of the third grade as well 
as of the second grade to make pupils unwilling to leave a passage 
that is not comprehended. Too much emphasis cannot be laid 
upon the principle expressed earlier in this report, that the habits 
formed in the first reading experience, and the set of the mind 
toward the act and purpose of reading, must be right from the 
start. 

The too-slow group. The St. Louis Course of Study in 
Reading contains the following suggestion, regarding one 
type of pupil, which is worthy of careful consideration and 
application: 

The small group of slow readers needs to be taken care of early. 
The teacher should carefully choose parts for them to read that 
contain a minimum of difficulties, and they should be given much 
practice, under the direction of good readers of the class, in reading 

1 Gray, W. S. " Study of Emphasis on Various Phases of Reading 
Instruction in Two Cities"; in Elementary School Journal (November, 
1916), vol. 17, pp. 178-86. 



READING IN THE PRIMARY GRADES 61 

stories of less difficulty than belong to their grade and quarter. 
The slow readers must not be fighting obstacles at every step; 
they must be given content that they can handle with reasonable 
independence. This, of course, means that the slow group needs 
some minutes that will be devoted particularly to them. The 
rapid readers need not be penalized to listen; they may well be 
rewarded by being allowed to go off to read silently for their own 
pleasure. 

Silent reading for pleasure and for home recreation should be 
encouraged. Exercises in silent reading, as suggested in Appendix 
A on that subject, should be a part of every week's program in the 
third grade. The main purpose of these should be neither memory 
nor speed, but selection and organization of meaning in progres- 
sively larger units. 

Increasingly larger thought units. In the beginning stage 
of reading the sentence-word is the thought unit adapted to 
the ability of the pupil. Gradually we increase the length 
of the sentence. In the second grade the paragraph is the 
unit of thought. In the third grade the pupil should be able 
to divide the whole selection into groups of paragraphs. 
The pupils should be encouraged to look for the important, 
the large thought in what he reads. The silent reading and 
discussion of the story as a whole aids the child to conceive 
the story in its larger units, rather than in haphazard, broken 
fragments, as so often occurs in the usual oral-reading 
method. 

The detailed methods, devices, and lesson illustrations for 
primary silent reading are given in later chapters on silent 
reading. 

Vocabulary. While reading should always be for pur- 
poseful thought-getting, it is fundamental that the child 
acquire an ability to recognize words and groups of words 
easily and quickly. The Riverside Primer and First Reader 
set a standard, with reference to the recognition of words, 
by listing in the back of each book a " Fundamental 
Vocabulary " of one hundred words, which all first-grade 



62 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

pupils are to be able to recognize. There should be a list 
of this kind for each half grade, and the pupils should occa- 
sionally be tested upon the ability to recognize the words 
with facility. Kendall and Mirick l set the following 
standards of vocabulary attainment: 

It may be said that by the end of the third grade children who 
are not hampered by their customary use of a foreign language 
ought to be able to read nearly everything within the range of their 
individual or related experience. This would mean that they will 
have a reading vocabulary of about one thousand words, and an 
ability to read much that contains scattered words outside their 
vocabulary. 

The Jones vocabulary standards are discussed in the 
chapter on " Tests." 

PROBLEMS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

M 

1. List four values of oral reading in order of importance. 

2. In most school systems, there is a much larger percentage of non- 
promotions in the lower first grade than in any other half grade. 
Why is this? To what extent can you justify it? To what extent is 
it due to reading standards that are too high? To what extent is it 
due to a course of study in reading that is not sufficiently adjustable 
to individual differences? 

8. Why is oral reading more necessary in the lower grades than in other 
grades? 

4. Formulate a plan for testing the oral reading of a class that would 
give a reasonably accurate general estimate of the oral-reading 
achievement of each pupil and that would be economical in the time 
required. How often should the second- and third-grade classes be 
tested in oral reading? 

5. What do you consider to be the most important aim of the reading 
instruction in the grade you teach or contemplate teaching? 

6. Give two illustrations of material suitable for each of the two types 
of oral reading described on page 55. 

7. State the main reason usually advanced in opposition to phonetic 
analysis and drill in the first two grades; the main reason in favor of 

1 Kendall and Mirick. How to Teach the Fundamental Subjects, pp. 
33-34. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1915. 



READING IN THE PRIMARY GRADES 63 

systematic phonic teaching in these grades. Which has the greater 
weight with you? 

8. In the light of the discussion on primers, evaluate the primer or 
primers used in your school in the beginning reading lessons. 

9. Discuss special ways of meeting individual or group needs that will 
realize the maximum development of the forward, the average, and 
the backward pupils. 

10. Criticize the general statement of aims and outcomes on pages 37-88. 






CHAPTER IV 

TEACHING READING IN THE INTERMEDIATE AND 
UPPER GRADES 

1. In the Intermediate Grades * 
Radical change in method. The fourth grade should be 
radically different in the method of handling the reading 
instruction from that characteristic of the second grade. 
While in the primary grades the oral-reading method pre- 
dominates, in the middle grades the silent-reading method 
should predominate. The justification for this change of 
emphasis is well stated by Dr. William S. Gray 2 as follows: 

A first-grade pupil is able to pronounce words more rapidly than 
he is able to recognize them, but during the second and third 
grades his rate of recognition equals or surpasses his rate of pro- 
nunciation. By the time the pupil reaches the fourth grade, he has 
mastered the art of reading well enough to use it independently. 
The result is that he begins to read more rapidly than during the 
earlier grades. He becomes interested in the content of what he 
reads, and, because his vocal chords react somewhat slowly, his 
eyes run along the lines more rapidly than he can pronounce the 
words. It is evident that under these conditions speed in recogni- 
tion becomes an enemy of excellence in oral reading. These facts 
justify the contention that less emphasis should be given to oral 
reading during the intermediate grades and greater opportunity 
should be given for the development of effective habits of silent 
reading. Further justification for this change of emphasis is found 
in the fact that a fourth-grade pupil of average ability has usually 
mastered the mechanics of reading so well that he is able to pro- 
nounce at sight words which he is unable to understand. When- 

1 At this point the reader should review the discussion of the values of 
oral reading and the general statement of aims and outcomes as given in 
the first part of Chapter III. 

2 Elementary School Journal (April, 1919), vol. 19, p. 609. 



READING IN THE INTERMEDIATE GRADES 65 

ever a pupil has reached this stage in his development, additional 
mastery of word pronunciation is less important than increased 
mastery of meanings. These meanings are best secured by the 
pupil's coming in contact with words and sentences time after 
time until a body of meaning is built up in regard to them. A large 
quantity of reading with emphasis on the thought side, such as 
was recommended for the second and third grades, aids greatly in 
the development of meanings. The change of emphasis from oral 
reading to silent reading in the intermediate grades gives added 
opportunity for concentrating attention on the content of what is 
read. 

Again, the curves of progress for rate of silent reading reveal the 
fact that progress in rate of reading is very rapid in the second and 
third grades, is less rapid in the intermediate grades, and ap- 
proaches a maximum in the sixth and seventh grades. Numerous 
investigations of progress in reading show that by the time pupils 
reach the sixth grade their habits of careful silent reading have 
been more or less permanently established. It is evident, therefore, 
that the intermediate grades represent a period during which the 
rate of reading may be emphasized to advantage. If rate is not 
emphasized until later, it is probable that improvement in rate, if 
secured at all, will be attained only through the expenditure of 
much more time and effort than is required during the intermediate 
grades. 

Emphasis on content and major values. Along with the 
change from the oral- to the silent-reading method will come 
increased attention to the content of what is read. This 
will involve attention to the major thoughts of the unit as a 
whole, and consideration by sections and paragraphs. The 
middle grades, being largely free from the obligation in 
relation to oral reading, have increased opportunity and 
obligation in the interpretation of the content read. 

The plan used in some reading texts of listing difficult 
words, with definitions at the beginning or end of the selec- 
tion, tends to mechanical memorization of definitions and to 
isolated consideration of word-meanings in the recitation. 
The consideration of the meaning of individual words, with- 



66 SILENT AND OKAL READING 

out any relation to a problem or to the interpretation of the 
content, is altogether too common. Skillful teachers are 
learning how to frame problems and exercises which involve 
a scrutiny of individual words in relation to a larger purpose. 

Word-study. While the primary grades develop pho- 
netic analysis, the intermediate grades should develop 
an ability to analyze words into their meaning elements. 
There should be a study of prefixes, suffixes, root words, 
synonyms, and antonyms. The purpose of teaching 
phonics in the lower grades is to give the child a means of 
working out the pronunciation of words the meaning of 
which he already understands. It has been noted that 
facility in pronunciation may easily outrun comprehension 
of meaning. While pupils should gain a facility in recogniz- 
ing the meaning of words through the context, they should 
also be given the means of working out the meanings of 
unknown words through analysis of the meaning elements, 
and through the economical use of the dictionary and other 
helps. In the middle grades there should be a systematic 
study of words in relation to meaning, as there is a syste- 
matic study of phonics in the primary grades. Just as the 
phonics should be taught in a separate period, and applied 
by the pupils in their reading, so should the word-meaning 
study be taught in a period separate from the reading 
period. A certain amount of exercises in spelling and 
language will help in the development of a feeling of mean- 
ing for a large vocabulary. Special exercises in connection 
with vocabulary development in reading are given in 
Chapter VIII. 

Extensive reading. In order to develop the proper back- 
ground of meaning, there should be extensive reading of all 
types of material that give the child valuable experience. 
The traditional point of view in relation to the reading 
course for the middle and upper grades has been to have. 



READING IN THE INTERMEDIATE GRADES 67 

a few well-selected units studied intensively, with oral 
rendition following minute analysis. The point of view 
now coming to be more generally accepted is to have large 
amounts of reading done in these grades, to provide the 
pupil with a vicarious type of experience, to develop effi- 
cient reading habits, and to develop the habit of reading for 
recreation. The new St. Louis Course of Study in Reading 
contains the following paragraph: 

Every sort of literature is proper to these years — epic stories of 
adventure and romance, ancient and modern, the great mythic 
cycles, lyric poetry, drama, Bible selections, general prose litera- 
ture including biography, history, romantic fiction, appreciation 
of nature, animal tales, stories of industrial development and 
of industrial heroes — everything of a significant import. There 
should be very much in the course for extensive reading, covering 
a great variety of interests, fitted for rapid perusal and fairly easy 
grasp of idea, whose spirit or story or information may be caught 
as a whole, and appreciated and critically scrutinized as a whole. 
Much of it, with a content that repays thoroughness of study and 
discussion, that challenges thought, rouses emotion, and vitalizes 
ideals, should be subjected to intensive study. 

In his book, The Curriculum, 1 Professor Bobbitt devotes 
a chapter to " Reading as a Leisure Occupation." He says: 

The readings from the beginning to the end of the course, to the 
end of life itself, need to be as wide and varied as earthly life and 
to give an adequate revelation of all major types of human experi- 
ence, in all portions of the world, and with such historical per- 
spective as is needed for each of the various regions. 

He enumerates four types, as follows: 

1. First it will present a revelation of man in his present dis- 
persion over a diversified planet: travels, geography, ethnol- 
ogy, descriptive sociology, anthropology, etc. 

2. A second series of readings will construct the historical back- 

1 Bobbitt, Franklin. The Curriculum. Houghton Mifflin Company, 
1918. 



» 



68 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

ground: biography, travels (during past ages), history, 
memoirs, evolutionary sociology, etc. 

3. A third type will reveal the essential nature and relation of 
things: science readings, mathematical, physical, biological, 
sociological, technological, etc. 

4. A fourth type of reading is literature, in the narrower sense. 
It aims to present anything that happens to be chosen as its 
theme. Clearly literature is not coordinate with the others. 
It cannot be separated from them. 

The following paragraph, also by Professor Bobbitt, gives 
a stimulating conception of extensive geographical reading: * 

Let us note some of the more detailed implications, beginning 
with the geography. In the primary and intermediate grades, in 
addition to the widest practicable direct observations, there will 
be stories about things that make up the world in general. Much 
must be oral; but beyond the first grades most of the stories will be 
read. The book-trade is rapidly providing suitable books. Here 
are a few titles taken at random: Little Folks of Many Lands, 
Eskimo Stories, Around the World, The Wide World, Big and Little 
People in Other Lands, The Dutch Twins, The Japanese Twins, 
Little Journeys to China and Japan, Travels in Scotland, Gerda in 
Sweden, etc. The more literary the stories can be, in the sense of 
presenting a true and clear and interesting reconstruction of life 
and its background in the various regions, the better for the edu- 
cational experience. The readings offered at present have largely 
been developed in an educational age of didacticism and fact- 
memorization, and are often so freighted with information that 
they do not reconstruct life so that it can be visualized, and re- 
lived in imagination. Many books, however, particularly the more 
recent, have avoided the pitfalls and fallacies of didacticism. 
They simply present interesting stories that comply with literary 
canons. They give no appearance of an attempt to be "inform- 
ing." They are presented upon the sane theory that if children are 
permitted to enter vividly into the life of a country and view con- 
ditions as they are, they will have intelligence enough to see the 
things that are there, and to carry away a sufficient residuum of 
memories. 

Training in silent reading and study. The Gray curves i 

1 Bobbitt, Franklin. The Curriculum, p. 231. Houghton Mifflin Com- 
pany, 1918. , 



READING IN THE INTERMEDIATE GRADES 69 

of progress for silent-reading attainment in rate indicates 
that the pupil's silent-reading rate is fairly well fixed by the 
end of the sixth grade and that improvement after this time 
usually is effected with a greater expenditure of time and 
energy than before. According to Gray, the intermediate 
grades is the period during which the largest emphasis 
should be placed upon training exercises in developing speed 
and improving comprehension. SpecfaTlnethods and de- 
vices f oTsTTclTTr ainlrig are given in Chapter VIII. S 

In view of the fact that the middle grades may constitute 
the critical period in the development of efficient silent- 
reading habits, it is highly important that the attainments 
of the pupils in silent reading should be regularly checked 
up by the use of standardized reading tests, and by tests 
formulated by the teacher in connection with material at 
hand. Careful study of the results of these tests will aid 
the teacher materially in planning the reading instruction 
for the greatest benefit of all her pupils. 

Individual differences. The use of scientific tests have 
emphasized the wide individual differences in reading 
achievement. It is common to find the fastest readers in a 
class reading silently four times as fast as the slowest ones. 
We find the same wide variation in the comprehension 
scores. The individual differences are much more marked 
in the middle grades than in the upper grades. How shall 
class instruction deal with these differences? Are we justi- 
fied in holding together in a single class pupils so widely 
separated in rate or quality of reading? Shall we substi- 
tute individual instruction in reading for class instruction? 
Judd says : l 

There are vast individual differences in pupils. There is also 
the practical necessity of dealing with pupils in groups. The prob- 

1 Reading: Its Nature and Development, Supplementary Educational 
Monographs, vol. n, no. 4, p. 175. 



70 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

lem is how to recognize individual needs and at the same time 
economize effort by working with groups. The solution of this 
problem will be found only when analysis of the process which is 
being taught reveals those aspects which are common to all the 
members of the class and those which must be dealt with indi- 
vidually. When analysis has brought out these distinctions, it is 
the duty of the school so to organize its instruction as to provide 
for both class instruction and individual instruction. There can 
be little doubt that teaching in groups has been overdone. Indi- 
vidual instruction based on analysis of individual performances is 
called for as one of the most important innovations to be worked 
out in the schools. Individual instruction, when it is properly 
worked out, will not be a chance concession to personal caprice, 
but a systematic analysis of individual performances followed by 
an adaptation of instruction to individual levels of achievement. 

Reclassification on basis of individual needs. The 
teacher of a room of two classes will find, through careful 
observation and testing, that each class contains different 
types of readers who vary widely in reading achievement. 
Each will contain the slow reader who comprehends poorly, 
and the fast, careless reader. Each will contain the fast 
reader who is excellent in comprehension, and the medium- 
rate reader who is good in comprehension. For a part of 
the reading instruction the most practical thing to do would 
be to rearrange this room of forty to fifty pupils into two, 
three, or four groups, according to types of readers as de- 
termined by scientific tests and the teacher's personal 
knowledge of the pupils. Then each group could be given 
material of a difficulty suited to its ability and interest. 
Methods of instruction could be varied to suit the needs of 
the specific group. Special cases of extreme backwardness 
in reading would best be taken care of in an ungraded room, 
if this is possible. Some schools have reported good results 
from having the best silent readers act as individual teachers 
of the poorer ones. 

Oral reading. A relatively small proportion of time in 



READING IN THE INTERMEDIATE GRADES 71 

the intermediate grades should be devoted to oral reading. 
Some poetry, chiefly in the form of ballads or narrative 
poetry, such as " Horatius at the Bridge," should be taught 
by the oral-reading method. In the case of the very slow 
silent readers in these grades, phonetic analysis and oral 
reading will be found helpful in developing proper eye- 
movement habits. There should be some audience reading 
in each term's work. In these grades, wherever possible, 
there should be a real audience situation in connection with 
the oral reading. A very good rule to follow in these grades 
is not to have the material read orally unless you have a 
good specific reason for the oral reading. In connection 
with long units used for silent reading, it is advisable to 
have pupils choose funny parts, witty sayings, climaxes, 
most interesting paragraphs, etc., to read to the remainder 
of the class as audience reading. 
Summary on intermediate-grade work in teaching reading. 

1. The two leading aims in reading instruction in the 
intermediate grades are to bring the rate and com- 
prehension in silent reading to a high level of efficiency, 
and to provide large amounts of vicarious experience 
through extensive silent reading. 

2. An abundance of material of a great variety of types, 
covering all phases of life, full of action and spirit, 
should be provided for extensive silent reading. 

3. A variety of effective methods should be employed to 
center attention upon the content during the study 
time, as well as during the class period. 

4. Special silent-reading training exercises should be used 
with the class as a whole, and with special small groups, 
for the purpose of bringing the rate and comprehen- 
sion of every individual to the highest level possible. 

5. There should be systematic lessons outside of the regu- 
lar reading lessons, to develop ability to determine the 



72 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

meaning and pronunciation of words through word- 
analysis and the use of appropriate helps. 

6. The greater part of the oral reading should be organ- 
ized about real audience situations that provide suf- 
ficient motive to secure effective effort. Narrative 
poetry appeals to pupils of these grades, and should be 
studied and read orally as pleasurable experience. 

7. Tests in rate and comprehension in silent reading 
should be given regularly to determine both the level 
of achievement of the class and of each pupil, and to 
aid the teacher in working out better means of classi- 
fying and instructing the pupils in accordance with 
their needs. 



2. In the Fpper Grades 



The problems of reading in the upper grades (seventh, 
eighth, and ninth) in some respects are similar to those in 
the intermediate grades. It is not uncommon to find 
pupils in these grades who are two or three years below the 
standard in silent reading. The slow, laborious readers are 
still in evidence. It will still be necessary to have training 
exercises, but, if the reading instruction in the intermediate 
grades has been properly done, this phase will not need as 
much time as in the preceding grades. 

Speed development in the upper grades. It has already 
been noted in Chapter II that, according to Mr. John A. 
O'Brien's study, there are large possibilities of speed de- 
velopment in the upper grades. His conclusions with 
respect to this important point are as follows: l 

1. Marked increases in rate can be effected in the upper grades 

1 O'Brien, John A. "The Development of Speed in Silent Reading"; 
in the Twentieth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education. 
Public School Publishing Company, Bloomington, HI., 1921. 



READING IN THE INTERMEDIATE GRADES 73 

when speed in reading is set as a definite problem for the 
pupils. 

%. When training in rapid silent reading is given to pupils not 
previously trained therein, the increase in rate tends in a gen- 
eral way to advance pari passu with the advance in the grade; 
the higher the grade, the greater is the increase in rate. 

3. As compared with the gains which can be readily effected 
by systematic training in rapid silent reading, the increases 
ordinarily obtained in rate in the upper grades are so small 
as to indicate a condition almost pathological in character. 
They constitute a serious indictment of the present school 
regime in the teaching of reading, with its grotesquely mis- 
placed emphasis on oral reading and its utter neglect of 
reading in the true sense of the term — the silent interpreta- 
tion of the printed symbols. 



txper/meff/n/ Grvuo. 



Coafro/ Grov/7. 




Pig. 11. O'Brien's Graphs showing the Average Gain in Rate for 
Grades IV to VIII, as determined by the Courtis Silent-Read- 
ing Test ^ 



Fig. 11 illustrates Mr. O'Brien's conclusion that the 
higher the grade the greater the possibility of speed develop- 
ment. This increase in speed was obtained without any 
impairment of comprehension. It should be noted, how- 



74 , SILENT AND ORAL READING 

ever, that checks on comprehension accompanied the speed 
exercises. The speed development attained was measured 
by the pupil's rate of reading very easy narrative material. 

Variability in reading attainment within upper grade 
classes. If one of the leading aims of reading instruction 
in the intermediate grades, to bring the rate and compre- 
hension in silent reading for all pupils to a high level of 
efficiency, has been effectively carried out, the variability 
of attainment in the upper grade will not be as great as in 
the intermediate grades. But all the studies reported show 
that, under present conditions in the schools in general, we 
have widely separated levels of reading attainment in most 
any upper-grade class. To attempt to have a large group 
of pupils with marked individual differences in reading 
attainment use the same reading material under the same 
method of instruction will inevitably result in discouraging 
results. On the basis of the scores of two or more stand- 
ardized tests and of the teacher's judgment, the pupils of 
a room should be classified into three or more groups and 
each group given material and training in accordance with 
its level of attainment. More detail as to how to make 
these special groupings is given in Chapter X. 

Extensive silent reading. In his chapter on " Reading," 
Professor Bobbitt says, 1 in describing the reading work of 
the grammar grades: 

For the grammar grades, it is the same world-pageant that is to 
be observed by way of further deepening and extending their 
understanding and sympathies. They too will read accounts that 
permit them adequately to visualize life in its totality in the vari- 
ous lands. These are to be selected for their more mature under- 
standing, however, and should reveal a wealth of details and rela- 
tionships not possible on the earlier levels. The stories require for 
effectiveness in the reconstructions the same types of literary 

1 Bobbitt, Franklin. The Curriculum, pp. 233-34. Houghton Mifflin 
Company, 1918. 



READING IN THE INTERMEDIATE GRADES 75 

merit; and absence of didacticism. If children do not acquire this 
habit of world-wide observation of human affairs during school 
days when the instincts are most fully awake as a healthy and 
satisfying leisure occupation, they are not likely to continue it 
during the years of adulthood. It is this continuance at which 
education should principally aim. This is immeasurably more 
important at this period than the memorization of deciduous 
information. But it will take care of the information, — and on 
the sound presumption that most of it normally is deciduous. 
Let them develop their appreciations and their habit of world- 
observation as a satisfying leisure occupation, and the amount 
of genuine information they will have on tap will be enormously 
increased. And when they need other information they know how 
to acquire it expeditiously. But let them during grammar grades 
simply be dosed with didactic facts, then when adulthood is 
reached, they will neither have the facts remembered, — except 
where the learning was accidently experiential, — nor those habits 
of observation of world-wide affairs which should constitute the 
most important non-physical leisure occupation of adulthood. 

What shall be the criterion for choosing literary units? 
In recent years there has been a growing tendency for read- 
ing texts for the upper grades to consist almost entirely of 
classical literature, drawn from the writings of American 
and English authors. In opposition to this point of view, 
the writer just quoted says : l 

Now for developing the leisure occupation here discussed, the 
literature to be selected is that which will give the widest and full- 
est and most effective possible revelation of the world sCs a whole 
in its multifarious divisions and aspects. Any selection will be 
chosen not upon the basis of literary form or structure; or nation- 
ality of the writer; or language in which he originally wrote; or of 
the age in which he lived; or recency of the selection; or fame of 
the author. It is simply a question of whether it presents a clear 
window through which one can look out upon existence. If it does 
not, then it matters not how famous the author, or how difficult 
the selection, or what the wealth of footnotes, it cannot be good 
for the purpose here defined. 

" Ibid, pp. 237-38. 



76 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

Acceptance of this latter purpose must work profound trans- 
formation in both spirit and content of the literature curriculum. 
Selections will be chosen for their content-value. They will aim 
at the greatest possible width of vision, historical perspective, and 
depth of insight. The curriculum will draw upon the literatures 
of all lands. 

The purpose demands catholicity of theme. The literature 
should reveal war, personal adventure, love, brigandage, philan- 
thropy, religion, travels, poverty, family life, commerce, agricul- 
ture, industry, transportation, government, the struggle with 
nature and with disease, conflicting social classes, the labors of 
science and technology; and the other major ingredients of human 
existence. As literature rings the changes upon these things for 
different historical periods and in different portions of the world, 
its field is interminable and presents material for a rich and satis- 
fying lifelong leisure occupation. It is the business of early edu- 
cation to start youth upon this inspiring program; to bring him to 
love it as he loves the simpler visual drama upon the stage or 
screen; to develop habits in this field that are satisfying and per- 
manent for the intellectual illumination of a lifetime. 

The problems of difficulty and amount. The most com- 
mon current method of teaching literature in these grades 
is a slow, laborious process of minute analysis and explana- 
tion. This is due partly to the fact that too difficult selec- 
tions are oftentimes provided. Chubb says: 

If much labor on words, constructions, allusions, and so forth 
(those precious minutiae) is much needed in order that a work may 
be understood, then it is mischosen for the grade. l 

Bobbitt says: 

As a matter of fact, reading should be easy, rapid, interesting, 
so that much ground will be covered within the available time and 
also, so that it can be done chiefly because of inner motives. . . . 
Any selection that is so difficult as greatly to impede progress 
thereby proves that it belongs on a later level. The way to make 

1 Chubb, Percival. The Teaching of English. The Macmillan Com- 
pany, 1902. 



READING IN THE INTERMEDIATE GRADES 77 

reading easy and rapid and pleasant is to have much reading from 
the first grade onward; an ever increasing quantity from grade to 
grade.' 

Kendall and Mirick say: 

Some books should be allotted one period for discussion; others 
call for two or three periods; but few, if any, books or poems will 
return a profitable yield for an expenditure of eight or more 
lessons. 

Readings in community and national life. One of the 
main problems in the grammar or junior-high-school grades 
is to provide material for the reading course that appeals to 
the early adolescent's changing view of life, that appeals to 
the idealism of the adolescent, that develops his awakening 
interest in social, civic, and occupational problems, and that 
can be read with sufficient ease and rapidity that the ex- 
perience is an enjoyable one. Classic material in the sense 
of making a universal appeal should be used, but not ex- 
clusively. The pupils should develop a permanent interest 
in reading and discussing current events. Current litera- 
ture and selections bearing on modern social and civic 
problems and on topics of vocational interest should consti- 
tute a part of the reading course in the upper grades. Read- 
ing material on personal and social hygiene, accident pre- 
vention, fire prevention, food and fuel conservation, indus- 
trial developments, and other community problems, may 
legitimately claim a share of the program reading time. * 

Oral reading. There is more justification for oral reading 
for social and recreational purposes in the early adolescent 
period than in the preceding period. The group instinct 
characteristic of this period makes favorable the entertain- 

1 In 1918 the National Bureau of Education published the following: 
Lessons in Community and National Life: Series B, for Upper Grades, 264 
pp. ; Series C, for Intermediate Grades, 264 pp. Price 15 cents a copy, each. 
These may be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, Wash- 
ington, D.C., and will be found very helpful for supplemental work. 



78 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

merit of one group by another group through dramatic and 
other forms of audience reading. Larger uses can be made 
of poetry in this period than in the preceding one. But 
since poetry is a more difficult form of reading than prose, 
it is very important to select units that can be read with 
sufficient ease to ensure genuine enjoyment. Oral reading, 
however, should constitute a minor phase of the reading 
instruction in these grades. 
Summary on upper-grade work in teaching reading. 

1. The problem of the development of speed and com- 
prehension continues into the upper grades, although, 
if the reading instruction in the intermediate grades 
has been effectively done, the proportional time de- 
voted to this aim will be less than in the intermediate 
grades. 

2. Much extensive silent reading, of relatively easy 
material of well-recognized worth in giving the pupils 
a "wide observation of human affairs " and in de- 
veloping high ideals and worth-while interests, should 
be done by all upper-grade pupils. 

3. For the upper-grade pupils who have attained a rea- 
sonably high level of rate and comprehension, there 
should be increased opportunity for experience in 
enjoying literary material with catholicity of theme 
drawn from the great literatures of the world. The 
upper-grade period has increasingly greater possi- 
bilities in the study of poetry. 

4. The group instinct characteristic of the early adoles- 
cent period increases the opportunities of realizing the 
social values of oral reading. Considerable of the oral 
reading should involve a real audience situation. But 
the oral-reading type of recitation should be given a 
minor portion of the total reading recitation time of 
any upper-grade group. > 



BEADING IN THE INTERMEDIATE GRADES 79 

5. In selecting material for upper-grade groups caution 
should be used not to select material too difficult for 
the mental and reading attainment levels of the group. 

PROBLEMS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Discuss special types of classification for meeting individual or group 
differences in reading ability. 

2. What do you consider to be the three most important aims of the 
reading instruction in the intermediate grades? In the upper grades? 

3. What are the essential conditions necessary to real audience situations 
in oral reading? Is it sufficient merely to have the pupils close their 
books while one pupil reads orally his section of a selection previously 
read by the class? 

4. Examine a course of study in reading for a particular grade and 
determine to what extent it fulfills the content requirements indicated 
in this chapter. Consider its provision for material: (a) for audience 
reading; (b) for training in silent reading; (c) for reading of the exten- 
sive type; (d) for intensive literary study; (e) for individual reading; 
(/) for special group reading. 

5. Choose five selections from readers or from courses of study that you 
think are too difficult for the grade for which they are listed. 

6. Discuss the fundamental reason for a radical change from the tradi- 
tional oral-reading method above the primary grades. 

7. Give specific illustrations of pupils not being able to succeed in school 
subjects other than reading on account of poor reading ability. 

8. About what portion of the program reading time in the intermediate 
grades should be devoted to poetry? In the upper grades? 

9. Discuss the proposal that, in the intermediate grades, there should 
be systematic study of words in relation to meaning, in short periods, 
separate from and independent of the regular reading lesson. 

10. Compare the aims of reading instruction in the intermediate grades 
with the aims in the upper grades and note differences. 

11. Evaluate O'Brien's conclusions with reference to the development of 
speed in the upper grades. 



CHAPTER V 

APPRECIATION AND MEMORIZATION 
1. Developing Appkeciation 

Why we have failed in awakening appreciation. Appre- 
ciation of literature as one of the leading aims in reading 
instruction is probably more often given than any other. 
Yet it is continually being seriously questioned whether the 
schools are developing the proper emotional attitude to- 
ward reading. The question naturally arises, Why have 
our schools so often failed to develop appreciation? The 
following answers to this question may be given: 

1. There has too often been a lack of genuine apprecia- 
tion by the teachers themselves of the best in classical 
and current literature suited to the tastes and inter- 
ests of the pupils. 

2. The usual slow procedure of minute analysis and oral 
reading of all the material has tended to bring about a 
dislike for reading and an unfavorable attitude of 
mind toward literature. Miss Earhart says: 1 "In 
literature we frequently limit our efforts to following 
the thread of the thought, to getting the pronunciation 
and meaning of words, and to training in oral reading. 
... If nothing more than this is done, much of the power 
of the pupils to appreciate will remain dormant." 
Teachers in the intermediate and upper grades, as a 
rule, have failed to utilize oral reading to the best 
advantage because they have had all the material 

1 Earhart, Lida B. The "Arousal and Guidance of Appreciation," 
chap, x, of her Types of Teaching. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1915. 



APPRECIATION AND MEMORIZATION 81 

read aloud, instead of only those parts essential to 
appreciation. 

3. There has been too great an appeal to the intellectual 
faculties of memory, judgment, and criticism, and too 
little stress upon the values of human life, its virtues, 
ideals, trials, and struggles, as portrayed through the 
printed page. Teachers have too often failed to con- 
ceive reading as experience " lifting the individual 
human consciousness to the highest potential of human 
feeling. " There has been too much attention to con- 
structions, classification of parts of speech, and other 
matters of form and too little emphasis upon the 
essential content values. 

4. Effort has been wasted in trying to force adult litera- 
ture and adult standards upon children. Very often 
the reading provided in the middle and upper grades 
has been too difficult, both in content and in vocabu- 
lary. This has inevitably led to the errors in method 
enumerated above. 

5. What has been accomplished has been due largely to 
the enthusiasm and intuitive wisdom of the naturally 
superior teacher. Teachers have not been instructed 
in the psychology and pedagogy of appreciation. Only 
in recent years has the term " appreciation lesson" 
been discussed in educational literature. The need 
of rationalizing the teacher's method in developing 
desired attitudes of mind toward reading is an impor- 
tant one. 

The nature of appreciation. Charters says: 1 

The purpose, or function, of teaching is to assist pupils to appre- 
ciate and control the values of life. ... To appreciate means to 
estimate properly. . . . We are well acquainted with appreciation 

1 Charters, W. W. Methods of Teaching, 1912 ed., pp. 9 and 21. Row 
Peterson Company. 



82 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

as implied in ideals. . . . Literature is said to have its chief value 
in giving children such ideals. 

Strayer and Nors worthy say: * 

Appreciation belongs to the general field of feeling rather than 
knowing. . . . Appreciation involves the presence of some intel- 
lectual states, but its addition makes the total complex of an 
emotional rather than a cognitive nature. . . . Appreciation is an 
attitude of mind which is passive, contemplative. . . . The indi- 
vidual is satisfied with it. This puts appreciation in the category 
of recreation. Appreciation then always involves the pleasure 
tone, otherwise it could not be enjoyed. 

Appreciation of social values. The conception of reading^ 
as experience emphasizes the importance of stressing the 
value and needs of human beings, both as individuals and | 
as members of society. From the first grade on, in the read- 
ing lessons, we ought not to fail to cultivate social apprecia- j 
tion on "the basis of lofty motives, persistent effort, hard- j 
ships overcome, and suffering nobly borne." In order to \ 
develop this social appreciation, we need to choose reading 
material for the pupils from the whole human drama, ; 
representing a great variety of life situations in all parts of | 
the world. The children need to experience a great deal of t 
this reading, much as we witness a play upon the stage, the ( 
reading being done with ease, rapidity, and pleasure. 

Appreciation of aesthetic values. In a piece of literature j< 

we may appreciate the thought or feeling expressed, the | 

idea, the story, or the act, or we may appreciate the way in i> 

which it is told, the fine choice of words, the fluency and ' 

ease of style, the delightful musical qualities of the poem, jj 

We may differ with Woodrow Wilson in his political ideas, !i 
but all agree that he has a remarkable style in his state 
papers. Poe's purpose was to produce an effect rather than 



1 Strayer and Norsworthy. How to Teach, chap, vra, pp. 126, 127. The 
Macmillan Company, 1918. — ~ 



': 



APPRECIATION AND MEMORIZATION 83 

to express a thought. If we have been properly taught, we 
cannot fail to appreciate the musical characteristics and the 
skillful choice of words that he uses to produce the particu- 
lar effect desired. ^Esthetic appreciation of good taste, 
beauty, and the pleasurable effect of form can be more 
effectively developed through experience than through too 
much intellectual analysis of the underlying technique. 
One school reports excellent results from allowing a fifth- 
grade class to sing Scott's poems. 

Appreciation of the humorous. When we reflect upon 
the kinds of humor that the average individual in life appre- 
ciates, the importance of the school in developing apprecia- 
tion of the right sort of humor and wit is clear. The reading 
instruction provides the best opportunity for utilizing and 
directing the child's natural liking for the humorous. An 
interest in reading may sometimes be aroused through this 
element in literature when all other means fail. Every 
term's work in reading should contain one or more selections 
in which the essential element is the humorous. Such a 
unit generally will be best appreciated by the pupils merely 
by their being allowed to enjoy it. Problems may be set, 
the discussion of which will involve the humor of the selec- 
tion. For an example of this kind see the lesson in Chapter 
VII on " How I Killed a Bear." The great danger is that 
teachers will impose needless tasks upon the pupils, which 
will hinder enjoyment. The oral reading of selected por- 
tions will bring out humor under a community of attention 
which individuals missed in their independent reading. 
At other times a rapid silent reading in the recitation-lesson 
will best cause the class to catch the spirit of the humor. 
It is most important that the teacher realize that the essen- 
tial element of the selection is the humor, and plan the 
reading procedure so as to center attention upon that. 
Miscellaneous audience reading, as described in Chapter V, 



•84 . SILENT AND ORAL READING 

furnishes an excellent opportunity for the teacher to guide 
the pupils in selecting commendable jokes and witticisms. 

Appreciation of nature. There is always danger of carry- 
ing correlation to absurd lengths. However, much may be 
done in the reading lessons to arouse an interest in the 
beauties of nature and in the enjoyable observation of 
nature phenomena, as well as to develop appreciation of the 
literature of nature. This may best be done by developing 
a feeling for the spirit that animates the author, rather than 
by centering attention upon information. Here again the 
teacher's purpose must concentrate upon the large values 
of the reading matter. The material used must be full of 
the spirit of a lover of Nature in close communion with her 
many-sidedness and her changing moods, and at the same 
time be written in a style that appeals to the child as a child 
rather than as an adult. Wherever the material reveals the 
music of Nature, it should be read orally. 

General method for the appreciation lesson. The 
method for the appreciation lesson can hardly be reduced 
to a formula. In general, there are three phases that are ! 
fairly constant: (a) an initial large view; (6) analysis into I 
essential elements; (c) a final perspective view of the whole. 
Applying this to a reading lesson, it will mean that the j 
selection will be read through from the beginning to the end, I 
without interruption, to get the general theme or spirit of j 
the unit. In some cases this should be done by the pupils | 
during study time, and in some cases the selection should be 
read orally to the class by the teacher. The second step 
involves a consideration of the unit more in detail, with a ! 
problem or problems as the basis of analysis and reclassifica- 
tion. During this step any obstacles to a clear compre- 
hension of the meaning of the material or appreciation of 
its spirit are cleared away. ^Finally, there is a perspective ! 
view of the unit as a whole. This may simply be a final 



APPRECIATION AND MEMORIZATION 85 

reading of the poem to the class by the teacher, or by some 
good pupil reader. It may be a final consideration of the 
essential point of view, value, beauty, or ideal portrayed in 
the selection, or it may be a recapitulation of experience 
through dramatization. 

General suggestions as to developing appreciation. The 
following suggestions as to methods and plans may prove 
helpful to teachers: 

1. While an adequate knowledge is helpful toward appre- 
ciation, ov er-analys i s is fatal to emotional enjo yment. 
It is not necessary to know the meaning of every wbrcl 
in order to appreciate a piece of literature. It is 
better to determine the essential points and let the 
rest pass. 

2. " The best preparation for the teacher who feels that 
her teaching is inadequate in those phases of her work 
which involve appreciation is to plan to do what she 
can to ensure her own growth in this particular. Read 
more poetry, and especially read it with those who 
derive great pleasure therefrom, if you wish to teach 
poetry better." 1 The spirit of the emotional attitude 
must be caught rather than taught. 

3. In so far as there is attention to the technique of liter- 
ary types and structures it should be clearly only a 
means to a better understanding and appreciation of 
the major content values. For the average person, 
" literature is a thing to be experienced, not to be 
studied; to be used, not to be analyzed; to be pleasur- 
able experience motivated from within, and not tasks 
arbitrarily imposed from without. " 

4. A particular unit of reading matter should be read at a 
rate similar to the rate that would be used in a typical 

1 Strayer, George D. A Brief Course in the Teaching Process, chap. VII. 
Macmillan, 1911. 



86 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

life situation. We read a book of fiction or a drama at 
one sitting or within a few days. This gives a better 
perspective view than is possible under the laboriously 
slow reading typical of the school. The average 
person's reading is largely for recreation. Qualities 
characteristic of recreation should predominate in the 
appreciation reading lesson. 

5. It is necessary that teachers have clearly in mind 
wherein lies the essential value of the unit. For the 
Mother-Goose rhymes and poetry suited to the pri- 
mary grades it is in the beauty of sound and form. 
They are therefore suited for auditory experience and 
memorization. The story makes its appeal through 
the content, and its ordered arrangement in plot 
and narrative. Consequently it may be experienced 
through being heard or through silent reading, and 
reexperienced through telling. The value of Warner's 
" How I Killed a Bear " is in the humor. The value 
of " Horatius at the Bridge " lies in the heroic act told 
in a forceful manner. In the " Gettysburg Address " 
Lincoln's simple but forceful appeal to the living to 
complete the unfinished task of saving the Union has 
made it a classic. It is useless for a teacher to attempt 
to impart appreciation until she has determined 
definitely the essential worth of the unit. 

Cautions. 

1. Avoid raising the critical attitude for the time. 

2. Do not expect rapid growth in appreciation. 

3. Do not attempt to develop appreciation for a unit 
of literature which you do not genuinely appreciate 
yourself. 

4. Do not force children to give expression to the feeling 
awakened. 



APPRECIATION AND MEMORIZATION 87 

2. The Teaching of Poetry 

A lesson on a poem is classified as an appreciation lesson. 
Applying the general method of this type of lesson to the 
poem, we have three main steps. 

A perspective view of the whole. It is important that the 
first impression be pleasurable and vivid. It may be neces- 
sary to pave the way for the most effective attitude of mind 
by a preparatory step. This may be done in either of 
several ways: 

1. By getting before the pupils the setting, through 
questions and discussion. 

2. By relating an incident or information essential to the 
understanding of the poem. 

3. By setting a problem to serve as a specific purpose for 
securing a high degree of attention. 

4. By exhibiting a picture or other concrete illustration 
of the poem. 

This preparatory step should be brief and to the point. 
In the first five or six grades, and sometimes even above 
this, the pupil's first impression of the poem should be from 
the teacher's reading to the pupils, without the text before 
them. There are two reasons for this. The literary values 
of the poem are essentially auditory. Poetry is a more diffi- 
cult form of reading than prose. In the upper grades the 
perspective view may be a rapid silent reading of the whole 
during study-time, especially with the longer units, such as 
Miles Standish. Not until the sixth or seventh grade is it 
advisable, as a rule, to have the pupils study the poem 
preparatory to the recitation. 

Excellent preparatory discussions for poems for each 
grade may be found in The Teaching of Poetry in the Grades, 
by Halliburton and Smith. Excellent accounts preparatory 
to the presentation of poems for the four upper grades are 



88 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

given in the series of Readers entitled, Studies in Reading, 
by Searson and Martin. Good brief preparatory para- 
graphs and problems are given preceding the poems in The 
Boys' and Girls' Readers, by Bolenius. Valuable illustra- 
tions are given in the newer sets of readers. Those in the 
Riverside Readers and the Natural Method Readers are very 
good. The illustrations in the Jessie Willcox Smith edition 
of the Mother Goose Rhymes are excellent for mounting or 
framing. Some primary teachers use these by placing one at 
a time above the blackboard as the rhymes are taught, and 
using them as helps in recalling the rhymes. 

Study by parts. In studying the poem by parts it is often 
best to consider it in terms of thought units. In the 
" Daisies," by Frank Dempster Sherman, each pair of lines 
constitutes a thought unit. In " Where the Boats Go,'* by 
Stevenson, each stanza answers a question, as follows: 

Stanza 1, How does the river look? 
Stanza 2, What is floating on the river? ~" 
Stanza 3, Where is the river going? ^ 
Stanza 4, What will happen a hundred miles away? 

In some cases the analysis of the poem may be made in 
terms of a problem. The following are some good prob- 
lems. 

"A Valentine," by Laura Elizabeth Richards. 

Draw and color a little valentine that would suit this poem. 
"Somebody's Mother." 

Tell the class how you would arrange the poem as a moving 

picture. 
"A Riddle," by Hannah More. 

After you have guessed this riddle, take each line separately 

and show that it is true. 
1 "The Bells," by Edgar Allan Poe. 

List the four kinds of bells, and list under each four words 

well chosen to express the effect characteristic of the bell. 



APPRECIATION AND MEMORIZATION 89 

"The Pied Piper of Hamelin," by Robert Browning. 

In preparation for dramatizing, decide upon how many scenes 

will be needed and the stage-setting for each. 
"Herve Riel," by Robert Browning. 

For effective oral reading of the first stanza we should express 

sympathy and terror. What should be expressed in reading 

each of the other stanzas? 
"The Children's Hour," by Longfellow. 
In the picture in the Reader be able to identify each child. 

During this analysis step any parts or words, the meaning 
of which is not clear, would be explained. In some cases it 
will be advisable to have the pupils consult the dictionary, 
or the glossary in the reading text. But Chubb's caution in 
this respect is needed: 

Beware of the dictionary : let it be a Iastj-esort. Use it as little 
as possible; there is no magical virtue in it. Encourage the habit / 
of getting at the meaning of a word through the c ontext, which is \ 
far more important than a habit of facile dictionary' hunting. 
Few words have fixed values anyhow; they take complexion from 
the company they are in. 1 

The treatment of the poem by parts may be done in a 
variety of ways. A part may be read silently by the pupils, 
interpreted, details cleared up, related to the whole, and then 
read orally by some pupil. Or the oral reading may be 
deferred until the poem has been considered in detail, and 
then the whole read aloud. In other cases it may be best 
for the teacher to read the stanza or other division orally, 
as the pupils read it silently, and have the pupil's oral 
reading following the detailed analysis. It is appropriate 
here again to cautionjigamst over-analysis. Be sure that 
the essentials getTInto the foreground of llie child's con- 
sciousness as the principal values to control in studying a 
poem. 

1 Chubb, Percival. The Teaching of English, p. 169. The Macmillan 
Company, 1902. 



\ 



00 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

A new experience of the whole. The final step in an 
appreciation lesson should be one of synthesis. The first 
step was a rapid survey of the whole. The second step was 
an analysis of the details in relation to major values. The 
last step is the opposite of analysis. Too often the last step 
is omitted altogether. Other times it is a dreary review 
without an element of newness. This third step, then, 
should be synthetical and experiential, and should contain 
sufficient new procedure and content to be impressive. In 
some cases it might be a final oral reading or singing of the 
whole. In another case it might be the dramatization of 
the poem on the basis of the analysis made in the second 
step. In other cases it might be the statement of the solu- 
tion of the problem. It might consist in memorizing and 
reciting the poem. The summarizing of the essential values 
of the poem under a new organization might constitute the 
final step. The important thing is for the teacher to deter- 
mine the final step according to the nature of the particular 
poem. 

It is not possible in this treatment to give detailed illustra* 
tions of model lessons. Excellent ones for each grade may 
be found in The Teaching of Poetry, by Halliburton and 
Smith. Excellent lists of poems by grades are given there 
also. 

3. Memorization 

Method in a memorization lesson. Probably the most 
common method used in helping a class or pupil to memorize 
a poem is to have one line or stanza repeated several times 
and then recited, then to have the next line or stanza re- 
peated and recited, and so on through the poem. This is an 
inefficient method, not in accord with the psychology of 
memory or with the findings of experimental teaching. We 
are all familiar with the experience of the boy who comes to 



APPRECIATION AND MEMORIZATION 91 

the end of a stanza in recitation and can go no farther. 
This is because the connection between parts has been very- 
poorly made in the method used in memorizing. 

Close association of meanings. All writers emphasize 
the importance of closely associating in the pupil's mind 
the ideas of matter to be memorized. Memorizing a poem 
should be a very thoughtful procedure. Conscious memo- 
rizing naturally follows the thinking process. The first 
impression affects materially the pupil's interest in the poem, 
and his effort in remembering it verbatim. The vividness of 
the first experience may be heightened through the prepara- 
tory step discussed under the teaching of a poem. The 
pupil's first contact with a poem should be under a high 
degree of attention and a feeling of pleasure. It is best to 
present the poem in terms of the principal thought units. 
The details under each of the major ideas should be developed 
in the order in the poem. Tying the larger thoughts to- 
gether helps the pupil to comprehend and appreciate the 
poem as a whole, and aids recall. The meaning elements 
need to be referred to when an attempt to recall is failing. 
The commonly used method described in the preceding 
paragraph fails to utilize association of meanings as an aid 
in memorizing. 

The method of the whole superior to the method by parts. 
The poor method of memorizing line by line, or stanza by 
stanza, is a method by parts. All experimenters have re- 
ported better results from the method of the whole. In the 
latter, the pupils' efforts at verbatim recall will be attempts 
to recall the poem from the beginning to the end, rather 
than to work on a part until it is memorized and then attack 
the next part. Parker points out l two reasons why the 
method of the whole is more economical than the method 
by parts: 

1 Parker, S. C. Methods of Teaching in High Schools, pp. 154-58. 
Ginn and Company. 



92 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

1. No time wasted by useless associations by the whole method. 

2. Greater concentration of attention by the whole method. 

Combining the two methods. Strayer and Norsworthy 
suggest 1 a combination of the part method and the whole 
method: 

The advantages of the whole method are that it forms the right 
connections and emphasizes the complete thought, and therefore 
saves time and gives the right perspective. Its difficulties are that 
the material is not all of equal difficulty, and therefore it is waste- 
ful to put the same amount of time on all parts; it is discourag- 
ing to the learner, as no part may be raised above the threshold 
of recall at the first study period (particularly true if it is rote 
memory); it is difficult to use recall, if the whole method is ad- 
hered to. A combination of the two is therefore wise. The learner 
should be encouraged to go over the material from beginning to 
end, until the difficult parts become apparent, then to concentrate 
on these parts for a time, and again go over from the beginning — 
using recall whenever possible. 

Memorizing Wordsworth's " Daffodils." These authors 
give in detail how to teach a class of sixth-grade pupils, in 
fifteen minutes, to memorize the " Daffodils." The follow- 
ing is the outline of their plan. 

1. Preparatory arousal of interest in the poem. ' 

2. Presentation of poem by parts, in terms of the big ideas with 
related details. 

3. Oral reading of whole by teacher to pupils, once or more. 

4. Pupils recite poem with teacher, repeating each stanza several 
times. 

5. Analysis of thought, indicating, in the author's words as far 
as possible, the development of ideas through the poem. 

6. Recital of poem as a whole by teacher and pupils. 

7. Individual study and recall by pupils. 

8. Verbatim recital by pupils next day. 

Recall as a factor in memorizing and retaining. While 
there should be careful relational thinking and interpre- 
tation, followed by a certain amount of verbatim repeti- 

1 Strayer and Norsworthy. How to Teach, chap. v. The Macmillan Co. 



APPRECIATION AND MEMORIZATION 93 

tion, effort at recall should come comparatively early in 
the memorization process. Repetition prolonged tends to 
make the recall mechanical, and consequently lacking in 
concentration upon the thought. After a poem has been 
memorized, it will be much more likely to be permanently 
retained if recalled at intervals. If a poem is being mem- 
orized to be recited upon a certain day, it is well to recall it 
each day. After a poem has been memorized by a class, it 
should be recalled occasionally in that grade and also in the 
next grade to ensure a more permanent retention. Pupils 
should be encouraged to recite their " memory gems " and 
poems to individuals and to special groups, whenever ap- 
propriate occasions arise. Teachers should be careful to 
provide opportunity for pupils to recite poems learned in 
previous grades. A very good scheme is to have a record 
paper accompany the class, giving the poems memorized 
by the class under previous teachers. 

What to memorize. An interesting and valuable study 
has recently been made to determine what poems are most 
commonly used for memorization and in what grades. The 
study is based upon the courses of study of fifty cities of 
varying sizes located in various parts of the country. The 
following list is taken from the report of the study and 
consists of the poems most frequently listed in the fifty 
courses of study and shows the grade in which each poem 
was most frequently used: l 

Preferred Lists of Poems for Memory Work 
Grade 1 
Author Title 

1. Alexander, Mrs. C. F. All Things Bright and Beautiful 

2. Brown, Kate L. Little Plant, The 

1 Bamesberger, Velda C. Standard Requirements for Memorizing Lit- 
erary Material. University of Illinois, Urbana. 50 cents. 1920. 



94 



SILENT AND ORAL READING 



3. From the German 

4. Stevenson, R. L. 

5. Stevenson, R. L. 

6. Stevenson, R. L. 

7. Taylor, Jane 

8. Tennyson, Lord 

9. Cooper, Geo. 

10. Field, Eugene 

11. Rossetti, Christina 

12. Stevenson, R. L. 



Author 

1. Allingham, Wm. 

2. Cary, Phoebe 

3. Child, Lydia M. 

4. Coleridge, S. T. 

5. Field, Eugene 

6. Field, Eugene 

7. Houghton, Lord 

8. Ingelow, Jean 

9. Kingsley, Chas. 

10. Larcom, Lucy 

11. Lear, Edward 

12. Sherman, F. D. 

13. Sherman, F. D. 

14. Stevenson, R. L. 

15. Field, Eugene 

16. Longfellow, H. W. 

17. Miller, Emily 

18. Stevenson, R. L. 

19. Stevenson, R. L. 



Sleep, Baby, Sleep 

Autumn Fires 

Rain 

Swing, The 

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star 

Bird and the Baby, The 

Come Little Leaves 

Why Do Bells for Christmas 

Ring? 
Wind, The 
My Shadow 



Grade II 



Tide 



Fairies, The 

Suppose 

Thanksgiving Day 

Answer to a Child's Question 

Dutch Lullaby 

Rockabye Lady, The 

Lady Moon 

Seven Times One 

Lost Doll, The 

Brown Thrush, The 

Owl and the Pussy Cat, The 

Daisies 

Four Winds, The 

Land of Story Books, The 

Duel, The 

Hiawatha's Childhood 

Blue Bird, The 

Wind, The 

Windy Nights 



Grade III 



Author 

1. Aldrich, T. B. 

2. Allingham, Wm. 

3. Bjornson, Bjornstjerne 

4. Brooks, Phillips 



Title 

Marjorie's Almanac 

Wishing 

Tree, The 

O Little Town of Bethlehem 



APPRECIATION AND MEMORIZATION 



95 



5. Cary, Alice 

6. Field, Eugene 

7. Hogg, James 

8. Krout, Mary H. 

9. Longfellow, H. W. 

10. Moore, C. C. 

11. Tennyson, Lord 

12. Jackson, Helen H. 

13. Longfellow, H. W. 

14. Rands, W. B. 



November 
Norse Lullaby 
Boy's Song 
Little Brown Hands 
Hiawatha's Sailing 
VLsit from St. Nicholas, A 
Owl, The 
September 
Children's Hour, The 
Great, Wide, Beautiful, Won- 
derful World 



Grade IV 



Author 

1. Field, Eugene 

2. Gould, Hannah F. 

3. Jackson, Helen H. 

4. Longfellow, H. W. 

5. Lowell, J. R. 

6. Tate, Nahum 

7. Tennyson, Lord 

8. Thaxter, Celia 

9. Wordsworth, Wm. 

10. Bryant, W. C. 

11. Longfellow, H. W. 

12. Lowell, J. R. 

13. Riley, J. W. 



Author 

1. Bryant, W. C. 

2. Bryant, W. C. 

3. Carlyle, Thomas 

4. Hemans, Felicia 

5. Jackson, Helen H. 

6. Longfellow, H. W. 

7. Longfellow, H. W. 

8. Longfellow, H. W. 

9. Longfellow, H. W. 
10. Morris, G. P. 



Title 



Night Wind, The 

Frost, The 

October's Bright Blue Weather 

Village Blacksmith, The 

Fountain, The 

Christmas 

Brook, The 

Sandpiper, The 

Lucy Gray 

Robert of Lincoln 

Arrow and the Song, The 

First Snowfall, The 

Brook Song, The 



Grade V 



Title 



Gladness of Nature, The 

Planting of the Apple Tree, The 

Today 

Landing of the Pilgrims, The 

Down to Sleep 

Excelsior 

Paul Revere's Ride 

Day is Done, The 

Old Clock on the Stairs, The 

Woodman, Spare that Tree 



96 



SILENT AND ORAL READING 



11. Shakespeare, Wm. 

12. Whittier, J. G. 

13. Whittier, J. G. 

14. Whittier, J. G. 

15. Emerson, R. W. 

16. Whittier, J. G. , 



Author 

1. Aldrich, T. B. 

2. Cary, Alice 

3. Drake, J. R. 

4. Holmes, O. W. 

5. Hunt, Leigh 

6. Longfellow, H. W. 

7. Tennyson, Lord 

8. Wolfe, Chas. 

9. Wordsworth, Wm. 

10. Longfellow, H. W. 

11. Tennyson, Lord 

12. Tennyson, Lord 



Author 

1. Bryant, W. C. 

2. Emerson, R. W. 

3. Holland, J. G. 

4. Miller, Joaquin 

5. Browning, R. 

6. Longfellow, H. W. 

7. Lowell, J. R. 

8. Lowell, J. R. 

9. Maeaulay, T. B. 

10. Taylor, Bayard 

11. Tennyson, Lord 



Author 

1. Bryant, W. C. 

2. Holmes, (X W. 



Under the Greenwood Tree 

In School Days 

Barefoot Boy, The 

Corn Song, The 

Fable 

Barbara Frietchie 



Grade VI 



Title 



Before the Rain 

Nobility 

American Flag, The 

Old Ironsides 

Abou Ben Adhem 

Builders, The 

Charge of the Light Brigade 

Burial of Sir John Moore- 

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud 

Psalm of Life, A 

Break, Break, Break 

Bugle Song 



Grade VII 



Title 



To a Waterfowl 
Snowstorm, The 
Gradation 
Columbus 

Home Thoughts from Abroad 
Building of the Ship, The 
Fatherland, The 
Yussouf 
Horatius 
J Song of the Camp, The 
Sir Galahad 

Grade VIII 

Title 

Thanatopsis 
Last Leaf, The 



APPRECIATION AND MEMORIZATION 97 

3. Kipling, Rudyard Recessional 

4. Pierpont, John Warren's Address 

5. Shakespeare, Wm. Mercy Speech 

6. Shelley, P. B. ^ Cloud, The 

7. Sill, E. R. Opportunity 

8. Whitman, Walt O Captain ! My Captain! 

9. W T hittier, J. G. Snowbound 

10. Burns, Robert For A' That and A' That ' 

11. Gray, Thomas Elegy Written in a Country 

Churchyard 

12. Holmes, O. W. Chambered Nautilus, The 

13. Lowell, J. R. Day in June, A. 

14. Scott, Sir W. Breathes there a Man 

15. Shakespeare, Wm. Polonius to Laertes 



Caution in selecting poems. While the results of studies 
like the one just referred to are very helpful in determining 
what material to use, care should be taken to make sure 
that poems chosen from lists of this kind are fitted in their 
thought and feeling values to the level of development of 
the pupils. For instance, in the preceding list, Whittier's 
" Barefoot Boy " is given as one of the poems most fre- 
quently memorized in the fifth grade. But an analysis of 
the poem will show that it was written for adults with an 
adult appreciation of the barefoot boy, and not for children. 
This is not an appropriate poem to use in the grades. In 
the lower grades, poems more difficult than the pupils can 
be expected to learn to read may be used for memory work 
provided they are psychologically suited to the children. 

The number of poems required to be memorized. In the 
study referred to in the preceding pages, it was found that 
the most common requirement as to the number of poems 
to be memorized was six in each grade. The median num- 
ber required was seven in the first four grades and eight in 
each of the four upper grades. 



98 SILENT AND ORAL READING 



PROBLEMS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Of the five reasons given as to why our schools have so often failed 
to develop appreciation, which do you consider the most important? 

2. Select a unit of reading matter, the essential element of which is (a) 
the social value, (b) the aesthetic value, (c) the humor, (d) the nature 
element. 

3. What is the essential difference between knowing and appreciating? 

4. What danger is there in reducing the appreciation lesson to formal 
steps? 

5. Do you agree with the fourth general suggestion for developing appre- 
ciation? Is this generally done in school practice? Give illustrations. 

6. Select a poem to be taught. Determine its essential value. Give 
briefly your plan of procedure in teaching the poem. 

7. Select another poem and formulate a good problem or specific aim 
for the pupils to keep in mind in their experience with the poem. 

8. Select a poem suitable for dramatization. 

9. What are the two most important points in the methodology of 
memorizing a poem? 

10. Using some familiar poem, illustrate the difference between the 
method of the part and the method of the whole. Show how the two 
might be combined in memorizing the poem. 



CHAPTER VI 

SECURING THE AUDIENCE SITUATION IN ORAL READING 

Types of oral reading. There are two general types of 
oral-reading recitation procedure. The most common one 
is that in which all the pupils of the class have before them 
the same material. This type is well adapted to primary 
work. It is also well adapted to the intensive study of a 
distinctly literary unit, especially the poem, the oration, 
and the short unit of poetic prose, Literary values are 
primarily auditory. The race had a considerable literature 
before it had printing. The literature was transmitted 
orally from generation to generation. Rhyme, rhythm, and 
other literary values are essentially and distinctly auditory. 
When we make an intensive study of a poem, the best 
method is for each pupil to have a copy of the poem and to 
use the oral-reading procedure as the guide of the recita- 
tion. Excellent illustrations of model lessons may be found 
in Teaching Poetry in the Grades, by Halliburton and Smith. 

The second type of oral-reading method is that of audi- 
ence reading. In the first type of oral reading there is no 
conscious purpose of conveying thought to an audience. 
It may be used as a test of the pupil's ability to express the 
thought, but the other pupils and the teacher have the 
reading matter before them, and any attempt to have the 
pupil try to imagine that he is reading to an audience under 
those conditions is futile. That type of oral reading is very 
useful for certain purposes, but if only that kind is used the 
pupils do not develop the proper facility in reading to an 
audience. Audience reading is the principal use made of 
oral reading outside of the school. It is the purpose of this 



100 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

chapter to give a number of plans for securing real audi- 
ence situations. 



Types of Audience Reading 

Miscellaneous audience reading. One plan that it is 
possible for practically all teachers to use is the miscel- 
laneous audience reading. Have each pupil bring in a 
short unit to read to the class. It may be a clipping, a 
selection from a library book, a birthday book, a Christ- 
mas book, a Sunday-School paper, a child's periodical, or a 
letter received. Riddles and jokes may be used, but they 
should not monopolize the time at the expense of more 
valuable material. The teacher should read to the pupils 
from time to time samples of good, short units, suitable for 
this type of reading in her grade. It will be necessary to 
stimulate and encourage the uninterested, discouraged, or 
unresourceful pupils. It is better to provide such a pupil 
with a book or periodical from which he may choose a 
selection than merely to provide him with the selection. 
Each pupil should make his selection, and practice at home. 

The reader should be expected to put the thought across 
to the audience — the remainder of the class. The pupils 
naturally have a tendency to study their own selections 
while one pupil is reading orally. In such case the teacher 
should expect them to give full attention to the reader as a 
matter of politeness. A failure on the part of the pupil to 
put the thought across to the audience will be the teacher's 
opportunity to instruct through both example and precept. 
This type of recitation procedure should not be a mere 
entertainment program. It should be a time of serious 
effort and thoughtful instruction, as well as a period of 
interest and enjoyment. The interest of the audience will 
be increased through such problems as the following: 



SECURING THE AUDIENCE SITUATION 101 

When the reader has finished, be ready to give the most inter- 
esting point. 

Be ready to name the characters, the chief character, the high- 
est point of interest. 

Be ready toward the end of the recitation to tell whose selection 
you liked best and why. 

What do you think will happen next in the story? 

The discussion should be brief, just enough to stimulate the 
interest of the class. 

Oftentimes pupils living near each other will desire to 
divide a story which is too long for one to read. It is best to 
have as many different pupils as possible read during one 
recitation. Each reading must be short. After the teacher 
and pupils have had some experience with this type of 
reading, it will be found that about fifteen pupils can read 
in a thirty-minute period. Interest is stimulated by having 
a definite time, such as a certain day each week, or every 
other week, for this type of oral reading. A miscellaneous 
collection of Primers is the best material to use for this type 
of reading in the upper first grade. First Readers, with 
short units, may be used to good advantage in the second 
grade. 

In this type of audience reading, where each pupil chooses 
different material from each other pupil, there is an oppor- 
tunity to develop judgment on the part of the pupils in 
selecting reading material, and the school and the home are 
in consequence brought into closer relationship. It is more 
easily carried out in a community where the homes are 
supplied with reading material for the children, but it may 
also be a means of stimulating a desire for securing more 
reading material for the children in homes less fortunate. 
The writer has seen this plan carried out in a number of 
classrooms to excellent advantage. 

Group-to-group audience reading. The second type of 



102 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

audience-reading recitation is as follows: Each class is 
given a different set of books containing short, easy selec- 
tions of the narrative type, such as the Fifty Famous Stories. 
Each class is assigned a unit for preparation at home, in- 
cluding practice in reading orally. In the recitation pro- 
cedure the first class reads its selection to the second class, 
which has not had opportunity to read the selection, and 
consequently constitutes a real audience. The pupils of 
the first class have each a copy of the selection before them 
and have the advantage of hearing it read and of reading it 
silently at the same time. The discussion is carried on 
mainly by the audience group, the reading group coming 
into the discussion occasionally. The teacher sets prob- 
lems to provide a specific purpose for the careful attention 
of the listening group, and as the reading proceeds enough 
questioning and discussion take place to keep both groups 
alert and attentive. , After the first class has completed 
reading its story to the second class, the second class reads 
its story to the first. Ordinarily there is opportunity for 
both classes to read in a thirty-minute period if the recita- 
tion proceeds with the snap and vigor characteristic of a 
well-planned and well-executed lesson. 

Another type of group-to-group audience reading with 
the whole room of pupils is that followed by one school, and 
involves the use of a small number of copies of one book. 
This school was furnished with ten copies of Peter and Polly 
in Spring. This is a very interesting narrative nature book, 
consisting of units of about three pages, each practically 
independent of the other and suitable for second or third 
grades. There being only ten copies of the book, it was 
impossible to use it in the usual way of having each pupil in 
the class have a book. The primary purpose of the book is 
to lead to an observation and appreciation of nature. In 
many cases the sounds were important characteristics. 



SECURING THE AUDIENCE SITUATION 103 

For these reasons it seemed that the material should come 
before the pupils in an oral fashion. The type of the ma- 
terial being narrative, and the book being divided into 
comparatively short units, it appeared that the book would 
be suitable for audience reading. The content of the 
material is such that, to realize the best experience for the 
children, it was felt advisable to cover the material as 
quickly as possible immediately preceding the opening-up 
of the season represented, so that the stimulus of the inter- 
est created would more likely result in enjoyable observa- 
tion on the part of the pupils. 

In group-to-group audience reading it is usually best for 
the teacher to have a book. This left nine books for the 
pupils. It was decided to cover three units a day. This 
would take about two weeks, or a little more, to complete 
the book. One unit was assigned to each of three groups 
of three pupils for a reading period of each day. During 
a study period these pupils were permitted to leave the 
room and go to some vacant room, or to some appro- 
priate place in the corridors, and practice reading so that 
they could read to the best advantage to the whole room of 
pupils. One of the better readers was placed in charge of 
the group of three. They gave such help to each other as 
they could in this preliminary preparation. It is evident 
that this sort of group cooperation provides a type of ex- 
perience that is very valuable in training for citizenship in a 
democracy. 

Conducting the group-to-group recitation. In conduct- 
ing the recitation, the teacher had the group of three stand 
in the center of the room in front and as near to the pupils 
as possible. In order to get the rather large listening group 
seated more compactly, and thereby make it easier for both 
the audience and the reader, the teacher had the pupils 
toward the rear of the room move forward, and if necessary 



104 SILENT AND ORAL BEADING { 

sit with other pupils. The reading group was permitted to 
place a drawing or any other material on the blackboard, 
preceding the recitation, as a means of making clearer to the 
audience the content of the unit. As the reading proceeded, 
the teacher played an important part in guiding the recita- 
tion. If a tendency on the part of the audience to become 
inattentive showed itself, the teacher aroused interest by a 
question, testing some pupil upon his understanding of what 
had been read or providing a specific purpose for listening to 
what was coming. At certain times the listeners were per- 
mitted to ask the readers questions about matters which 
were not entirely clear. After this group of three had 
finished, the next group of three took their places and read. 

By this plan the class was able to cover from eight to 
twelve pages in an ordinary period of twenty-five or thirty 
minutes, assignments for the next period included. Every 
pupil in the room had opportunity to have a copy of the 
book and participate in the audience reading at least twice 
during the time the class was using the book. After the 
book had been covered in this way, any pupil who desired 
to read the book or any part of it more carefully was per- 
mitted to do so for spare-time silent reading. The writer 
observed this work several different days, and was impressed 
with the interest and spirit manifested by the class. The 
other books of the series, Peter and Polly in Summer, In 
Winter, and In Autumn, were used in the same manner at 
the appropriate times of the year. In the sixth, seventh, 
and eighth grades the same plan was followed, using Dallas 
Lore Sharp's Series — The Spring of the Year, Summer, 
The Fall of the Year, Winter. 

Most schools are organized on the " two classes to the 
room " plan. As a general rule, it is not advisable to con- 
duct reading work with the room as a whole. It is possible 
to use the group-to-group audience-reading plan with one 



SECURING THE AUDIENCE SITUATION 105 

class. Divide the class into two groups and provide each 
group with a different set of books. In selecting the two 
books for this, it is best to have books containing independ- 
ent short units of the narrative type. It is also best to use 
books that have not been used in the customary reading 
lessons. The teacher should have a copy of each of the two 
books in order to guide the recitation as may seem neces- 
sary. The pupils prepare during their study period. If 
possible it is advisable to have each group, under the con- 
trol of a leader, go to some suitable place and assign the 
parts to the different members of the group, and practice 
reading aloud. In some instances it will be well for pupils 
to take the books home, and practice reading the story to 
some one at home. The suggestions made throughout this 
section with reference to the teacher's part in the manage- 
ment of the recitation apply, of course, here. In this type 
of work it is best to have the reading group separated from 
the audience group. In order to do this it is best to have 
the reading group stand in front or to one side of the room, 
and the audience group seated compactly. This plan makes 
it easy to take care of individual differences, by grouping 
according to ability and by providing easier material for 
the lower group. 

Suitable books to use for such reading. The following 
is a list of books suitable for the group-to-group audience 
reading: . 



Books Suitable for Group-to-Group Audience Reading 

*- Title Grades Publishers 

Folk-Stories and Proverbs 1-2 Ginn & Co. 

The Story Hour Reader, Book One 1-2 American Book Co. 

Animal Fables 2-3 American Book Co. 

Fairy Stories and Fables 2-3 American Book Co. 

Peter and Polly Nature Series, 4 books 2-3 American Book Co. 

Merry Animal Fables 3-4 Little, Brown & Co. 



-106 



SILENT AND ORAL READING 



Legends of the Red Children 

Chinese Fables and Folk-Stories 

Stories of Humble Friends 

Fifty Famous Stories 

Msops Fables (Stickney) 

Short Stories (Turner) 

Nature's Wonder Lore 

Going to School in Animal Land 

The Pig Brother 

Japanese Folk-Stories and Fairy-Tales 4-5 

Stories of Heroic Deeds 

Quaint Old Stories 

Lives and Stories Worth Remembering 

True Bird Stories 

Wilderness Babies 

Beyond the Pasture Bars (Sharp) 

Stories from Life 

Indian Folk-Tales 

Boy and Girl Heroes 

Indian Legends 

Myths of the Red Children 

Bird-Life Stories 

The Sharp Nature Series 

(One book for each season) 
Stories of English History 



3-4 


American Book Co. 


3-4 


American Book Co. 


3-4 


American Book Co. 


3-4 


American Book Co. 


3-4 


Ginn & Co. 


3-4 


Ginn & Co. 


3-5 


Rand McNally & Co. 


3-4 


A. Flanagan Co. 


4-5 


Little, Brown & Co. 


4-5 


American Book Co. 


4-5 


American Book Co. 


4-5 


Ginn & Co. 


4-5 


American Book Co. 


4-5 


Houghton Mifflin Co. 


5-7 


Little, Brown & Co. 


5-7 


The Century Co. 


5-6 


American Book Co. 


5-6 


American Book Co. 


5-6 


The Macmillan Co. 


5-6 


The Macmillan Co. 


5-7 


Ginn & Co. 


6-8 


Rand McNally & Co. 


6-8 


Houghton Mifflin Co. 


6-7 


Ginn & Co. 



Dramatic reading. The third type of audience reading 
is that involving the use of selections in dramatic form. 
This is feasible for sight-reading work. Only as many 
pupils should be given books as there are characters in the 
drama. The other pupils of the class form the audience. 

The following recitation, conducted by Miss Annette 
Buehrmann with a fourth-grade class, illustrates this 
type of recitation. The material used was two selections 
from Stevenson's Children's Classics in Dramatic Form, 
Book II — Pocahontas and Captain Smith, seven pages, and 
Pocahontas Saves Jamestown, eight pages. The characters 
were assigned to the pupils who were to take part in the 
reading. The remainder of the class constituted the audi- 
ence and did not have books. The teacher read the time, 



SECURING THE AUDIENCE SITUATION 107 

place, etc., getting before the class clearly the setting of the 
scene. As the reading proceeded, an occasional question 
or suggestion was thrown out to arouse the attention of the 
audience group. After the first drama was read, the charac- 
ters in the second drama were assigned to pupils who had 
not read, and the remainder of the class became the audi- 
ence group. The class was a comparatively slow class, but 
the plan provided such excellent motive, and was so well 
carried out by the teacher, that the reading was a pleasure 
to both the readers and the listeners. The improvement of 
the pupils through such procedure was clearly evident to 
the writer, who had followed the progress of these pupils 
with special attention. The two short dramas, fifteen 
pages, were read in a thirty-minute recitation period, and 
every pupil in the class had taken part in the reading. 

Topical audience reading. A fourth type of audience 
reading involves the use of selections from one author or 
upon one topic. The following recitation, conducted by 
Miss Lucille Murphy, a seventh-grade teacher, illustrates 
this type. The class had been making a study of Long- 
fellow, and had completed the Courtship of Miles Standish 
and one of his shorter poems. The teacher secured a num- 
ber of fifth-, sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade readers 
containing short selections from Longfellow. Each pupil 
selected a different poem, and prepared upon it during 
study-time in school and practiced reading it orally to the 
folks at home. During a thirty-minute recitation, eight 
poems were read, including such ones as " The Old Clock on 
the Stairs " and " The Arrow and the Song." The teacher 
kept the interest of the audience aroused by setting a prob- 
lem for discussion in connection with each poem. The 
discussion was, of course, necessarily brief, just enough to 
stimulate thinking on the part of the audience. The read- 
ing was surprisingly well done. There was no attempt to 



108 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

go into an intensive consideration of each poem. The 
purpose was to give the pupils a more extensive experience 
with Longfellow's poems than would be possible if all the 
lessons in relation to Longfellow had been of the intensive 
type. 

In a similar way the audience reading may be carried out 
by having the pupils read selections upon some theme of 
interest, such as Washington's Birthday, Arbor Day, 
Gardening, Safety First, Current Events, Thanksgiving, 
Baseball News, Signs of Spring, Letters Received, Letters 
Written, and themes of an ethical nature involving the 
reading of stories illustrating patriotism, perseverance, 
honesty, etc. 

The " cut-up story." The fifth type of audience reading 
involves the use of a " cut-up story." The teacher selects 
a printed story, suitable for her class. The story is cut into 
about as many units as there are pupils in her class. The 
units are mounted upon uniform-sized cardboard for 
convenience in handling. In selecting the story, the 
teacher should see that the printing is up to the hygienic 
requirements of her grade in size of type, leading, and 
boldness. Each pupil is given one of these units, which are 
numbered consecutively in the order of the story. The 
work may be sight-reading, or the pupils may be given 
opportunity to prepare for the reading. As each pupil 
reads his part of the story, the other pupils should give 
close attention as a matter of politeness. The teacher will 
need to make sure, through questions and pupil-reproduc- 
tions, that all members of the class are getting the story as it 
is being read. 

Illustrated audience reading. A sixth type of audience 
reading is in connection with illustrative drawings which 
pupils have previously made during drawing or reading 
study-time, in correlation with the silent-reading recitations. 



SECURING THE AUDIENCE SITUATION 109 

An eighth-grade class, in preparation for a silent-reading 
recitation, had studied Rip Van Winkle to get the story as 
a whole and to select paragraphs that would be good for 
illustration. During the recitation a certain number of 
paragraphs were selected by the class for illustration, and 
one of these assigned to each pupil. During the following 
study period each pupil made an illustrative drawing in 
crayola to represent the picture in his paragraph, in har- 
mony with the general spirit and setting of the whole story. 
The one making a particular drawing read his paragraph 
to the class, while another pupil held the drawing in good 
light before the class. The problem to be solved by all was : 
Is the drawing a good representation of the word pictures 
in the paragraph, and in accordance with the general spirit 
and setting of the story? The reader, being before the class 
with the book, had every opportunity to justify his illustra- 
tion by reading to the class. The other pupils were not 
permitted to look at their books. They were expected to 
depend upon the reader and upon their knowledge of the 
selection gained in preceding study. 

Some very interesting things were revealed. Some pu- 
pils had made very good illustrations, showing that they 
had caught the spirit and setting of the story as well as the 
detail of the particular paragraph. Others showed, much 
more quickly and completely than could have been re- 
vealed by any other form of expression, their lack of insight 
into Rip's character and their failure to comprehend the 
details of the reading matter. For instance, one boy had a 
picture of Rip fixing his fence. Another boy, who had 
caught the spirit, soon brought him to task and he was 
unable to justify it from any statement in the book. In 
relation to the oral reading the point is that here was pres- 
ent a real audience-and-reader situation. 

Audience reading may be illustrated by the use of the 



110 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

stereopticon lantern. Lanterns may now be secured which 
can be used without darkening the room. Recently the 
writer observed an interesting lesson of this type with an 
eighth-grade class on Evangeline. Each pupil had been 
assigned a lantern slide. His problem during the study 
period was to find in the poem the lines that described his 
picture, and to be prepared to read this description to the 
class as the picture was thrown upon the screen. The 
lesson proceeded with a minimum need of effort on the part 
of the teacher. There was a delightful interest throughout. 
Several times pupils spontaneously asked questions. The 
picture aided the audience pupils to follow the oral reading. 
A few pupils read sentences not relevant to the description 
of the picture, and were promptly criticized hy the other 
pupils. 

Wherever possible mounted pictures of good size, illus- 
trative objects, or blackboard illustrations should be used 
to aid the audience in following the oral reading. 

Reading to the pupils. The following material, descrip- 
tive of the advantages and the importance of placing ex- 
amples of good reading before the children, is taken from 
the St. Louis Course of Study in Reading: 

Throughout the reading every variation in the mode of handling 
the material that can be profitably employed should be introduced. 
There should be, for example, a great deal of reading to the class 
by the teacher, as well because it is always a pleasure to hear good 
reading, as that imitation is a legitimate method to use to vitalize 
and stimulate immaturity of any sort. Freed from the mechanical 
labor of doing the reading, the children may have the fullest oppor- 
tunity to appreciate the content read to them, and so realize the 
possibilities of the printed page and the satisfactions that it may 
disclose. 

Grades I and II. Reading stories and poems to children strength- 
ens in them the love of story and makes them eager to satisfy this 
desire. Thus, a motive for mastering symbols is provided, a 
jtandard of reading is set up, and a model of correct speech is pre- 



SECURING THE AUDIENCE SITUATION 111 

sented. Not only should the teacher do this reading, but at times 
excellent readers from their own number should be chosen, or 
good readers from the second or third grade should be invited to 
do it. 

Grades III and IV. Reading to the children should be done in 
this grade as in all other grades. The aim should be definite and 
the response sympathetic. This exercise affords opportunity for 
the children to hear good pronunciation, good inflection, and good 
rendering of a masterpiece. The strong readers in the room 
should be used to assist in this work. 

Grades V and VI. Reading to the class by the teacher should be 
done frequently to stimulate dynamic oral reading, to establish a 
continuity of thought and feeling, and to secure a fuller compre- 
hension and appreciation of literature through the interpretative 
power of a good reading voice. 

PROBLEMS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Teachers sometimes attempt to secure an audience situation for 
oral reading by asking the pupils to close their books during the oral 
reading of a paragraph or section, following the class discussion of it. 
Criticize this plan. 

2. Which of the types of audience reading interests you most? Why? 

3. Give an illustration of one or more reading books suitable for group- 
to-group audience reading, in addition to those listed on page 106. 

4. In purchasing a dramatic reader, how many copies would you advise 
being bought? 

5. Choose a unit suitable for " cut-up-story " audience reading in a cer- 
tain grade. 

6. Choose a selection suitable for illustrative drawing and audience 
reading. 

7. Choose a selection suitable for a lantern-slide audience reading lesson. 



CHAPTER VII 

CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 

1. Need for Change in Reading-Recitation 
Procedure 

A poor type of reading-lesson procedure. In the Survey 
Report of the St. Louis Public Schools, in the discussion on 
reading in the middle grades, the following paragraph 
occurs: 1 

The following method illustrates the procedure in one of the 
classes which secured particularly poor results. The lesson was 
introduced by asking the name of the story. The pupils then read 
the first paragraph to themselves. The teacher asked the following 
questions: "What is meant by conquest?" "What is an event?" 
The paragraph was then read aloud. Three errors were corrected. 
The pupils then read the second paragraph silently. Several other 
disconnected questions were asked. The pupils read the second 
paragraph orally, and were severely criticized by the teacher. 
This method was followed through the recitation. At no time was 
there- any evidence of interest on the part of the pupils. Nothing 
was done to stimulate good thinking. The pupils were inattentive 1 
and their reading was poorly done. Wherever such methods exist 
there is need for a thoroughgoing revision of the methods of teach- 
ing reading. 

While the above description is that of an extreme case, 
it nevertheless represents a somewhat common manner of 
procedure. There are three outstanding characteristics in 
this type. The recitation centers about an oral reading as 
one of the essential factors and outcomes of the recita- ij 
tion. The subject-matter is considered in fragmentary bits, 
instead of being considered as a whole and in its larger 



1 Gray, William S. "Reading"; Survey of the St. Louis Public Schools, 
, 150. 






CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 113 

units. The consecutive oral reading, paragraph by para- 
graph, naturally tends to the neglect of the perspective 
view and to undue emphasis upon detail. Proceeding con- 
secutively by small units destroys the need for thought- 
ful reading during study-time. The pupil who dawdles 
during study-time will do about as well in recitation as if he 
concentrates vigorously upon the thought of the content. 
This naturally leads to poor reading habits in study. 

Persons who have had wide experience in observing 
reading recitations testify that this type is altogether too 
common. 1 

Many teachers are almost entirely absorbed in oral reading, and 
this has led to an undesirable type of reading lesson common in 
schools. Under this method one pupil after another rises and reads 
one or two paragraphs, without previous study; and then states, 
either in his own words or those of the book, the fragment he has 
read. Incidentally, a few mispronounced words are corrected, a 
few inflections and emphases are modified, and possibly some 
paragraphs are re-read. After the selection has been read in this 
way, the entire story is occasionally reproduced by one or more 
pupils. 

Why beginning teachers fall into such practices. For 
the last ten years the writer has had opportunity to observe 
many beginning teachers passing out from one of the best 
teacher-training schools in the country. Why is it that 
almost invariably this is the type of reading recitation they 
conduct, regardless of what grade or content they are 
handling? The plausible explanation seems to be that this 
represents the type of reading recitation they were accus- 
tomed to as pupils in the grades, and that their preparation, 
including the apprentice period, had not given them suf- 
ficient observation and experience in radically different 
methods of handling the reading work. Another contribut- 

1 Kendall and Mirick. How to Teach the Fundamental Subjects, p. 35. 
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1915. 



114 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

ing factor, no doubt, is that this is one of the easiest ways of 
getting through a reading recitation, in case of lack of 
opportunity for preliminary preparation or in case of a 
feeling of insecurity as master of the situation. 

The writer is convinced that this scrappy type of recita- 
tion will not cease to be common in the intermediate and 
upper grades until teachers abandon thinking of reading as 
an oral process, and abandon the qral-reading procedure as 
the usual type in these grades. The transition from the 
recitation centering about the oral reading as the main 
outcome, to the recitation with little or no oral reading, 
must necessarily be a gradual one. It takes time to work 
out the technique of doing things in a new way. There is 
considerable evidence that progressive teachers over the 
country are breaking away from this old type of reading 
teaching, and are developing a new technique for handling 
silent-reading lessons. To aid in making such a change, 
the new St. Louis Course of Study in Reading makes specific 
provision for silent-reading work in all grades, and contains 
four pages of " Suggestions for Classroom Conduct of Si- 
lent Exercises in Reading." As a result of a recent study 
of reading in the elementary schools in Indianapolis, Gray 
reports 1 that " the diagrams for the first four grades show a 
gradual increase in the percentage of time devoted to silent- 
reading instruction.' ' Over a hundred teachers in the five 
upper grades reported that they devote over fifty per cent 
of the reading time to silent-reading instruction. 

Over-emphasis of oral reading. For a long time many 
leaders in educational thought have been advising more 
attention to silent reading in the intermediate and upper 
grades, and less time to oral reading. Suzzallo says : 

Over-emphasized, it [oral reading] slows up the rate of reading 

1 Gray, William S. " Reading in the Elementary Schools of Indian- 
apolis"; in Elementary School Journal (January, 1919), vol. 19, p. 351. 



' 



CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 115 

to the throat-muscles rate and becomes a positive evil. Later there 
is some place, preferably in the highest grades, for reading aloud 
for recreation to others, but this is now completely over-empha- 
sized in schools. Its relatively small use in life does not justify 
present practice in school. Quick silent reading is the most im- 
portant task beyond the first two years, and should be given 
primary emphasis. 

Briggs and Coffman say: * 

The open and most inviting field in education to-day seems to 
be that of silent reading. 

Kendall and Mirick say: 2 

If, then, thought-getting is the vital element in reading, those 
methods must be used that lay most stress on it and that are 
devised to develop skill in it. Because teachers realize this, they 
are giving silent reading and study of the selection to be read much 
more attention than formerly. 

Judd says: 3 

The fourth grade is a crucial point at which the methods of 
training should undergo a radical change to comport with devel- 
opment of independence and breadth of recognition. 

Fifth-grade reading would no longer consist of an oral exercise, 
in which each pupil holds his book and waits for an opportunity to 
read a sentence in his turn. This class would devote three fifths 
of its time each week to silent reading under supervision. 

2. Oral vs. Silent Eeading 

What proportion of the reading time in each grade shall 
be given to silent reading? Of course it is impossible to 
determine the answer to this question except in a general, 
advisory way. Conditions will differ, and the teacher, in the 



1 Reading in Public Schools (1911 edition), p. 259. Row Peterson Com- 
pany. 

2 How to Teach the Fundamental Subjects, p. 36. Houghton Mifflin 
Company. 

* Reading: Its Nature and DeveloymenU 



116 



SILENT AND ORAL READING 



final analysis, must be the judge. The general tendency 
among leaders of education, though, is to begin silent- 
reading work in the first or second grade, with a small 
proportion of time devoted to it; gradually to increase this 
amount of time until in the fourth grade; and above the 
fourth grade to devote over fifty per cent of the reading- 
recitation time to silent-reading work. The following dia- 
grams show the opinions of certain leaders. 



Eighth Grade 



Seventh Grade 



Sixth Grade 



± 



Ura 
Gra 



t 



Fifth .Grade 



Fourth Grade 



y 



Third Gr.nde 



Second Grade 



First Grade 





b. 




Eighth Grade 




Seventh Grade 
V 


bo 


Sixth Grade \ 


1 

(X 


Fifth Grade V 


a 


Fourth Grade / 


CO 


Third Grade 




^•'Second Grade, 




/ First Grada 



\ Fig. 12. Comparison of the Amount of Oral and Silent Reading 
advisable in the various grades 

a. Reproduced from How to Teach the Fundamental Subjects, by Kendall and Mirick. 

b. Redrawn from a rough sketch in a letter (March, 1915) by Dr. Henry Suzzallo in 

answer to a questionnaire. 

There are two reasons why the second diagram may be 
more nearly correct than the first. Studies seem to show 
that the middle grades constitute the most important 
growth period in silent reading. In the seventh and eighth 
grades the pupils are growing into a new social point of view. 
There is more opportunity in these grades to use oral read- 
ing as a means of pleasure and recreation to others. But 
the proportion of time devoted to silent reading in these 



CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 117 

grades depends considerably upon the extent to which the 
pupils have reached the proper standards in silent-reading 
ability. 

Essential differences between the oral and the silent- 
reading lesson. In this treatment it is not meant that in 
the oral-reading lesson there would be no silent reading, or 
that in the silent-reading lesson there would be no oral 
reading. In the usual oral -reading lesson, all the material 
is read aloud consecutively, sentence by sentence or para- 
graph by paragraph. The oral reading and the consecutive 
treatment are essentials- to the method. In the silent- 
reading lesson, both are only incidental. While there may 
be occasional oral- reading of choice bits, or of a sentence or 
paragraph to prove a point, or clear up the discussion, only 
a small part of the material is read aloud. The material 
may be considered in recitation in the consecutive logical 
order of the selection, or it may be discussed in a psycho- 
logical order characteristic of the problem method. 

The silent-reading method is more than training exer- 
cises. There may be silent-reading preparation in the 
study period for class discussion of the content with little 
or no silent reading in the recitation. On the other hand, 
the silent reading may be done entirely within the recita- 
tion period. Some plans of handling silent reading might 
eliminate any division of the time into study and recitation. 
Some conceive the silent-reading lesson as merely the use of 
training exercises. 1 The writer conceives this as one type, 
but holds that there is also plenty of opportunity for silent- 
reading lessons in which the primary purpose is to give the 
pupils valuable content-experience, without specific refer- 
ence to silent-reading training. An important advantage 

1 This seems to be the point of view in the article, " The Selection of 
Silent-Reading Textbooks," by Ernest Horn, id Journal of Educational 
Research, October, 1920. 






/ 

118 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

of the silent-reading lesson is the variety of procedure that 
is possible. 

When to use the oral and when the silent-reading 
method. After the pupil has acquired an ability to read 
with ease and fluency the vocabulary which he understands 
orally (this should be accomplished by the end of the third 
grade), the oral method should not be used unless there is a 
definite purpose in the teacher's mind in using it. It should 
always be used in teaching a poem, in order to have the 
child feel and appreciate the rhyme, rhythm, and other 
literary values which are essentially auditory. Likewise it 
should be used in teaching the oration. In general, it may 
be stated that, above the primary stage of learning to read, 
the oral-reading method should be used with such types of 
material as would be likely to be read orally in out-of-school 
reading, and that the silent-reading method should be used 
in connection with those types of material that are ordina- 
rily read silently rather than orally in out-of-school situa- 
tions. This means that recreative reading of books and se- 
lections that are suitable for extensive rapid reading would 
be handled by the silent-reading method. Certain parts 
might well be studied intensively, and read orally for cer- 
tain auditory effects. Practically all informational material 
would be taught by the silent-reading method. There is a 
great body of reading material that provides experiential 
reading in adventure, geography, history, biography, travel, 
etc., which should be handled by the extensive silent- 
reading method. 

Silent-reading lessons classified. Silent-reading lessons 
may be classified in several different ways. 



1. Silent-reading lessons involving the use of the same material 
by each pupil of the class. 

2. Silent-reading lessons involving the use of different material 
by each of two or more groups within the class. 



CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 119 

3. Silent-reading lessons in relation to the use of different mate- 
rial by each member of the class. 



1. Silent-reading lessons without preliminary preparation, 
involving silent reading in the recitation of the whole unit, 
or consecutively by parts. 

2. Silent-reading lessons with preliminary preparation, the 
recitation consisting mainly of consideration of the content 
on the material read outside of the recitation. 

in 

1. Content silent-reading lessons in which the primary purpose 
is experience for the pupils. 

2. Training silent-reading lessons in which the primary purpose 
is to increase rate, improve comprehension, or both. 

3. Test lessons in silent reading. 

The following organization will be the guide in the dis- 
cussion of silent-reading lessons in which the content 
values constitute the primary purpose. 

Content Silent-Reading Lessons 

1. Involving the use of the same material by all pupils of the 
class. Problem lessons. 

(a) Problems of a general nature. 

(b) Problems in relation to illustrative representation. 

(c) Problems in relation to dramatic reproduction. 

2. Involving the use of different material by each of two or more 
groups within the class. Books provided in sets of five or 
more. 

3. Involving the use of different material by each pupil in the 
class. 

3. Planning the Silent-Reading Lesson 

Stress the larger values. Growth in reading ability 
means ability to read in increasingly larger units of thought. 
In planning a content silent-reading lesson, the teacher's 
main problem is to plan the work so as to throw the empha- 



120 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

sis upon the larger units of thought. Details should be 
considered in their bearing upon these larger values, rather 
than as mere fragments. It is highly important that the 
pupils should realize, as a result of the instruction, that 
details are not the main values in reading, but that the 
comprehension and appreciation of the major thoughts and 
feelings are the ultimate ends to be sought. It will be very 
difficult to realize these larger values until teachers fully 
appreciate that often the best method of procedure does not 
involve a consecutive consideration, paragraph by para- 
graph, of the unit. 

The problem method. Probably there is no field wherein 
the problem method is more needed than in the teaching 
of reading in the intermediate and upper grades. Real 
problems, involving a critical application or reorganization 
of ideas, will aid in getting the perspective view before 
the pupils and will be a guide to the teacher in stressing 
the larger values. Before attempting an assignment, the 
teacher should carefully study the unit of subject-matter to 
discover what are the main content-values for the pupils. 
Then formulate a few well-selected problems that will be 
connecting links between the pupils' interests and these 
major values. 

Characteristics of good problems. The problem differs 
from the factual question in that its solution involves the 
gathering of data from the reading and its application or 
reorganization in terms of the problem, while the factual 
question is specifically answered in the reading matter in 
the same terms as called for by the question. The problem 
should be so stated as to arouse keen interest, on the part 
of the pupils, in their silent-reading study and in the recita- 
tion discussion. The wording should be definite and clear. 
Problems which lead to a difference of opinion, resulting in 
debate that involves the use of data from the reading matter, 



CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 121 

are valuable. The problems should be such that their dis- 
cussion will bring into prominent attention the main ideas, 
purposes, or values of the unit being read. Problems that 
involve ethical evaluation without preaching also are de- 
sirable. 

Assignments. The raising of the problem or problems so 
that they become real and stimulating involves skill. The 
pupil's interest will depend to a considerable extent upon 
the way in which the teacher gets the problem before the 
class. Usually too little time is given to assignments. 
They are often made hurriedly, at the close of the recitation 
or when the time is at hand for the study period. Of course 
the amount of time will depend entirely upon the nature of 
the assignment. In some cases only a few minutes will 
suffice, while in other cases the last half of a recitation may 
not be too much time. In case the unit of reading matter 
to be taught is a long one which will occupy a series of 
recitations, it is sometimes advisable to use one whole 
recitation to get started, and to raise the problems the class 
is to work upon for the succeeding days. This sort of lesson 
may be called a preparatory, a motivation, or a study- 
recitation-and-assignment lesson. 

More time and attention should be given, in the assign- 
ment, to the instruction of the pupils in the art of efficient 
silent reading. They should often be told how long it 
should take them to read a certain unit. In assigning a 
new unit of reading matter, it is usually well to advise the 
pupils to read the whole unit through rapidly first, merely 
to get a general perspective view, and then to do such 
additional reading as is necessary to solve the problems 
assigned. They should often be directed how to attack a 
given problem. Frequently questions and directions sub- 
sidiary to the problem should be given. As a rule it will be 
advisable to write the main problem on the blackboard, and 
give the suggestive subsidiary questions and directions 



122 r SILENT AND ORAL READING 

orally. A few problems — one, two, or three — carefully 
and wisely chosen, will be more effective than a long list of 
questions. Exercises that require the pupil to look for 
something definite, and to relate details of vocabulary and 
ideas to the larger values, should be a part of nearly every 
assignment. 

Definite assignments. The following directions and 
advice regarding assignments are taken from a monograph 
on The Teaching of Reading, issued by the Department of 
Public Instruction of New Jersey: 

It should be realized that the value of study to the pupil is in 
direct proportion to the definiteness and the "problematical" na- 
ture of the assignment. The more definite and restricted the 
assignment, the more thought-provoking it is; i.e., the direction, 
"Make as many words as you can," is not so productive of thought 
as the direction, "Make as many words as you can, beginning with 
a or b or c," or, "Make ten words which are the names of objects 
or of actions," or, "Make ten words with phonogram ing, ten with 
ace, etc." 

Other problems for study are almost innumerable, such as: 

1. "We are to learn five new words to-day. Pick them out as 
the lesson progresses." 

2. "The lesson is about a game. We shall play the game after 
we have read about it." 

S. " Give me an account of an experience of your own similar to 
the one in the lesson." 

4. "Write the names of each person the story tells about and be 
ready to state what each person does." 

5. "Select the most interesting paragraph in the story, or the 
most important event, or person." 

6. "Is the story well named?" etc. 

A lesson which does not have a definite purpose, clear to pupils 
as well as teacher, should not be assigned, and children should be 
trained from the beginning to study and to recite with a definite 
purpose in mind. This purpose should be present and evident in 
oral-reading lessons, but it is particularly important in study- 
reading exercises, if they are to have educational value. 

Moreover, the lesson assignments should be of a sort to compel 



CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 123 

a process of assimilation of the thoughts of the matter read; i.e., 
there should be incentives to relate what is read with individual 
experience. The common practice of having the story repeated 
substantially as the book gives it is the least valuable kind of 
exercise. The common practice of having one sentence or para- 
graph reproduced at a time is also unfortunate, as it prevents the 
very process of digestion that might naturally go on. Therefore, 
the direction, "Tell the story,'* or the question, "What have you 
read?" is the least desirable of lesson assignments. 

Formulation of problems by the pupils. In all types of 
reading method the pupil should be encouraged to raise 
problems with reference to matters that are not clear to 
him, with reference to matters with which he disagrees, or 
with reference to matters which he would like to have dis- 
cussed by the class. The mere asking a question about 
some factual detail by a pupil to trip up some other pupil 
should not be mistaken for the sort of purposive initiative 
thinking that raises real problems of importance. Pupils 
should be trained to see the difference between questions of 
small import and questions which show critical interpre- 
tation. The final aim is to produce critically selective 
readers. 

Occasionally, the full responsibility for formulating the 
problems for discussion should be given to the pupils. 
Each pupil may be asked to formulate one problem, the 
discussion and solution of which will involve some of the 
leading ideas of the unit. The problems thus formulated 
could be considered in recitation and arranged according 
to similarity. Pupils could be asked to show how the dis- 
cussion of the problem would bring in a certain leading 
point of the reading matter. The real problems could be 
separated from the factual questions to illustrate the 
difference. 

Importance of problem formulation. The importance of 
pupils forming the habit of having specific purposes in their 



124 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

reading is emphasized in the following excerpts, often quoted 
by educational writers : 

Some great men, always, before reading a book, make a short, 
rough analysis of the questions which they expect to be answered 
in it. — John Morley. 

In reading we do well to propose to ourselves definite ends and 
purposes. The distinct consciousness of some object at present 
before us, imparts a manifold greater interest to the contents of 
any volume. . . . Any one is conscious of this who reads a story 
with the purpose of repeating it to an absent friend; or an essay, 
or a report, with the design of using the facts or arguments in 
debate; or a poem, with .the design of reviewing its imagery and 
reciting its finest passages. . . . The private history of every self- 
made man, from Franklin onward, attests that he selected his 
books with distinct reference to the purposes for which he used 
them. Indeed, the reason why self-trained men so often surpass 
men who are trained by others, in the effectiveness and success of 
their reading, is that they know for what they read and study, and 
have definite aims and wishes in all their dealings with books. — 
Noah Porter. 

McMurry says: 1 "The unquestioning frame of mind 
that allows a sympathetic approach to an author marks one 
stage in study, but this must be followed by the critical 
attitude." Pupils may be asked to read a unit for the 
purpose of first getting an accurate understanding and 
impression, and then raising questions about defects or 
about any points of disagreement between the author and 
himself. 

The plan sometimes followed by teachers of asking the 
pupils to write a certain number of questions on a selection, 
merely to give the pupils something to do, fails to result in 
the kind of purposive thinking in reading that is desired. 
Usually, while some attention is given in recitation to the 
questions written out by the pupils, there is little done to 

1 McMurry, F. M. How to Study, p. 142. Houghton Mifflin Company, 



CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 125 

help the pupil distinguish between factual questions and 
specific purposes in the form of problems. The situation 
under which pupils are asked to formulate problems should 
be so stimulating that real interest will accompany his effort. 

4. Illustrative Silent-Reading Lessons 

In order to illustrate the various points made in the 
preceding pages, and to make clear how to teach content 
silent-reading lessons, a detailed account is given of a num- 
ber of such lessons in different grades, involving the use of 
the short unit, the medium-length unit, and the book as a 
unit. 



In one of our Fourth Readers is the story of " The 
Prodigal Son," about two pages. In the assignment for 
study, the pupils were asked first to read the story through 
rather quickly from beginning to end, then to re-read it, 
considering the following problem questions: 

1. Which of the two sons do you like the better? List the points 
in favor of the older son. List the points in favor of the 
younger son. List the points against the younger son. List 
the points against the older son. 

2. This story was told by Jesus to illustrate a father's love for 
his son. Select three sentences which show the father's love, 
and indicate your selections by page and line. 

The opinion of the class was about evenly divided on the 
first question. The lists suggested were worked out and 
formulated on the blackboard as group work, and each 
pupil left to decide for himself. The purpose of the problem 
was to get the pupils to examine the facts critically. A 
problem which leads to debate through difference of opinion 
is a fine type of problem, provided, of course, that its dis- 
cussion involves the leading facts in the reading material. 



126 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

The spirit and enthusiasm with which the pupils debated 
this problem showed that this lesson, which might other- 
wise have been somewhat of a bore to the pupils, was a real 
enjoyment. The second problem, of course, was for the 
purpose of centering their attention upon the main idea 
running through the story. Details with reference to the 
pronunciation of words and the meaning of words and 
phrases came up for attention from time to time throughout 
the recitation, but always as subordinate elements in rela- 
tion to a larger problem. 



n. ANOTHER FOURTH-GRADE SILENT-READING LESSON 

The following is an account of three recitations on " The 
Magic Prison," a selection of thirteen pages from The River- 
side Fourth Reader. " The Magic Prison " is a story of a 
little prince who had become so selfish and peevish through 
flattery and indulgence that the parents had to send for the 
fairy godmother, who took the little prince to a magic 
prison. The room was lavishly furnished. There were 
jars of perfume, an abundance of candy, fruits, and the like 
to eat, and comfortable couches and soft pillows. There 
was a beautiful songbird in a cage. The walls consisted of 
mirrors alternating with windows all around the room. 
From the windows could be seen a variety of beautiful 
scenic views. The boy spent his time indulging himself in 
enjoyment before the mirrors. He forgot to care for the 
bird and never noticed the scenes from the windows. The 
windows gradually grew smaller until they ceased to exist. 
The perfume was gone, the couch had turned to iron, the 
candy to stones, and the fruit had disappeared except a 
withered apple. He screamed and kicked and tried to 
escape until exhausted. Finally he became sorry for the 
bird calling in the dark. Through a series of kind acts for 



CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 127 

the bird, the windows, step by step, came back to normal 
size, and the boy secured his release and return to his 
parents. He remained a loving, kind prince, and became 
an ideal king. 

The purposes of the first recitation were to observe the 
pupils in their silent reading, noting cases of slow eye- 
movement, lip-movement, etc., to get the class started in 
the study of the story, and to make the assignment for the 
following study and recitations. The pupils were told to 
begin the story and read it through silently. In about eight 
minutes two pupils had completed reading the story of 
thirteen pages. Then they were all asked to stop and 
report the number of pages read. Some had read only six 
pages. The class was questioned upon the first few pages 
of the story, and it was noted that the slowest readers did 
not respond as well as the fastest readers. Certain advice 
was given about reading habits, such as inhibiting lip- 
movement, concentration of attention, quick eye-move- 
ment, etc. Then the assignment for the following study 
and recitation was made. They were told to complete the 
reading of the story at as rapid a rate as they could to get 
the gist of the story, then to go over it again, considering 
the following questions, which were written on the black- 
board : 

1. List three words that describe the Little Prince. 

2. Be able to describe the inside of the Magic Prison. 

3. What made the windows grow narrower? 

4. How did the prince cause them to begin to open again? 

5. List three words that describe the prince when he returned 
home. 

The second recitation involved a consideration of the 
problems, the discussion of which brought out the main 
points of the story and gave some opportunity for purpose- 
ful vocabulary work. For the third recitation the pupils 



128 ' SILENT AND ORAL READING 

were asked to take the books home, select a paragraph 
particularly interesting, and practice reading it to the folks 
at home so they could read it to the class. One choice was 
made in class as an illustration of a good choice. In addi- 
tion the pupils were asked to list and number the five acts 
of kindness on the part of the boy to the bird, resulting in 
the gradual reappearance of the windows and the final 
release of the boy. During the assignment the first one 
was selected by the pupils and listed as follows: 
Acts of Kindness 

1. He gave the bird some water, resulting in the appearance of a 
tiny window opening. 

During the third recitation these lists of acts of kindness 
were read by the pupils, and commented upon by the pupils 
and teacher. Then the pupils read to the class the selections 
chosen during their home preparation for audience reading. 
About twelve pupils read. As one pupil read to the class, 
the other pupils closed their books and gave full attention 
to the reader, with the problem in mind as to whether 
the pupil had given a satisfactory reason for choosing the 
selection being read. The previous study and recitations 
gave a familiarity with the thought and the words, elimi- 
nating hesitancy and making the reader-audience situation 
easier of realization for both the reader and audience. The 
social value of such a classroom situation was clearly greater 
than the ordinary consecutive oral-reading plan. 

m. A SERIES OF FIFTH-GRADE SILENT-READING LESSONS ON 
"SOME MERRY ADVENTURES OF robin hood" 

A unit of reading material, such as Some Merry Adven- 
tures of Robin Hood, by Pyle, is well adapted for extensive 
silent reading. The book consists of twelve chapters, and 
176 pages. It was used with an upper fifth-grade class, 



CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 129 

taught by Miss Blanche Turechek. Ten recitation periods 
of thirty minutes each were used. The following are 
representative of the problems used as a basis of reports on 
assignments : 

In the shooting of the deer which led to Robin Hood becoming 
an outlaw, who was most to blame, Robin Hood or the 
foresters? 

Why was Little John so named? 

What was the Sheriff's purpose in holding a shooting-match? 

In what three ways did Robin Hood disguise himself so that the 
Sheriff did not know him? 

What is the point of highest excitement in the chapter? 

Select witty lines in this chapter. 

The assignment involved one or two chapters to a recita- 
tion. The pupils were told to read the chapter through 
first without reference to the questions, and then to go over 
it again considering the questions and exercises written on 
the board for the chapter. The oral reading was of two 
types, that which came in naturally to prove points, and 
that which was planned as a part of the procedure in rela- 
tion to a problem, such as — " Select a witty saying in the 
chapter, write the page and line on a slip of paper, and be 
prepared to read it to the class." After the book was com- 
pleted chapter by chapter, one recitation was used to get a 
perspective view of the whole with a consideration of such 
problems as the following: 

Cite incidents showing Little John as the right-hand man. 

List six places where Robin Hood and his band outwit the 
Sheriff. 

Name the men Robin Hood could not overcome in single com- 
bat. 

List five characteristics of Robin Hood's personality which 
helped to bring him good fortune throughout the stories. 

A poor way to proceed. The procedure with the unit of 
reading matter mentioned above was radically different 



130 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

from the procedure the writer once observed in connection 
with a similar unit. An eighth-grade class was studying a 
school edition of Ivanhoe containing two hundred and eight 
pages. The method used was that of reading it orally and 
consecutively, page by page, with discussion of the details. 
The discussion of the class was centered largely upon minor 
details, with little consideration of the larger problems 
which might have been discussed after the pupils had all 
read the whole story silently. The class had completed 
the reading of a little over half of the book after five weeks, 
or fifteen recitations. However, upon inquiry from the 
pupils, it was discovered that most of the class had com- 
pleted reading the book silently on the side at odd times. 
With any literary material of this kind there should be 
some oral reading, but to attempt to read orally all of a 
unit of this length is not only objectionable because it tends 
to throw the discussion too largely upon small points, but 
also because it is too slow a procedure with reference to the 
amount of material the class is able to cover, and it tends to 
slow up the individual rate of silent reading. The point is 
that in the past this type of oral-reading procedure has been 
altogether too common, due to a conception handed down 
that a reading recitation means oral reading. We are 
coming to realize that the development of efficient silent 
readers is the most important phase of the reading problem 
in the intermediate and upper grades. The appreciation 
of good reading material of various types, including the 
distinctly literary types, of course, is also important, but it 
is believed by the writer that, except in the case of poetry, 
pupils get more enjoyment and appreciation through the 
silent-reading method. 

Silent reading and study. The tendency in recent years 
has been to place greater stress on the study methods and 
habits of the pupils than formerly. A careful observation 



CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 131 

of the silent-reading method will reveal the fact that this 
method tends to place greater emphasis on the study of the 
pupil. In the oral-reading method the pupil who had made 
little headway in his study could follow along and do about 
as well as though he had studied vigorously. But in the 
silent-reading method the pupil is practically unable to 
participate in the development discussion unless he has 
read with some degree of efficiency during his study-time. 
It also reveals to the teacher, and to the particular pupil as 
well, valuable information as to the pupil's silent-reading 
efficiency, and should result in some wholesome advice 
as to how to improve in silent reading. There is undoubt- 
edly a vital relationship between the pupil's silent-reading 
efficiency and his efficiency in study in the content subjects. 

IV. A SEVENTH-GRADE SILENT-READING LESSON 

The following is an account by Miss Lucille Murphy of 
a recitation in silent reading with a seventh-grade class. 

Material: How I Killed a Bear, by Charles Dudley Warner. 
Primary purpose: 1. To develop appreciation of the humor. 
Secondary purpose: 2. To improve comprehension and increase 

rate. 
Problem: To plan a motion picture based upon this story. 

Statement of the problem. " We see a great many moving 
pictures with many different plots. WTiere do you suppose 
the motion -picture director gets the stories for all the 
pictures he must produce? One pupil answered that people 
write them, and another soon suggested that they take 
some from books. W r e are going to read a story this morn- 
ing called How I Killed a Bear, that I believe could be 
worked into an interesting motion picture. For the next 
half-hour let us forget that we are pupils of the Garden- 
ville School, and let us be motion-picture directors. Let 



132 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

us read through this story from the standpoint of a director, 
and decide what scenes we will include and in what order." 

Solution of the problem. " We will read ahead until we 
have decided upon the opening scene." The children set to 
work with a will, each one hoping to be the first to discover 
the opening scene. In a short time some one suggested it, 
adding graphic suggestions as to the arrangement of the 
stage and the action of the characters. All agreed to this, 
and set to work to find the next scene. Here a difference of 
opinion arose. Some pupils wanted to include the account 
of the hero's previous experiences with a gun, but others 
objected on the score that this did not properly belong to 
the action, How I Killed a Bear. Some asked, " Well, 
suppose you do include it, how are you going to connect it 
with the story?" This objection was quickly answered by a 
wide-awake boy who responded at once, " Don't they often 
show what people are thinking about in motion pictures? 
All you would have to do would be to have him hold his 
gun and look at it as though he were thinking, and then 
show these things." Here the teacher stepped in. " Be- 
fore we can decide what to include in our picture I believe 
it will be necessary to decide whether the picture is to be 
exciting, funny, sad, or romantic." The name of the story 
suggested exciting to some, while others, influenced by the 
humorous account of the hero's past experience with a gun 
as just read, insisted that it would have to be funny. The 
teacher suggested that the class read on before deciding. 

The humorous account of a colored cook's encounter 
with a bear was read by the children with general amuse- 
ment, as they were now on the lookout for humor. One 
member of the class, who had insisted that this would make 
a good humorous picture, fearing that those on the opposing 
side would miss the point of the account, spontaneously 
rose and read aloud as soon as he discovered it, " He did not 



CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 133 

know whether she would agree with him." At this point all 
agreed that the picture was to be humorous. " Then if our 
picture is to be humorous, what kind of incidents must 
we be sure to include? " "Funny," the pupils replied in 
chorus. 

As the pupils went on to discuss each scene, even such 
minute detail as the " glad surprise " of the bear were 
appreciated. The pupils decided that they would have to 
have a well-trained bear, for if he failed to look glad the 
audience would lose one laugh. They decided to include 
what the man was thinking when the bear came toward 
him, for it would certainly add humor. They explained 
that the scene in which the hero relates his experience to his 
home folks would have to be liberally interspersed with 
leaders, for the humor lay in the swift repartee. Then 
came a heated discussion as to the closing scene. Some 
wished to stop with the procession carrying the bear home- 
ward, others with the crowd who assembled to view it, 
others with the hero just dropping off to sleep with " the 
last delicious thought," " I have killed a bear." This last 
suggestion was finally agreed upon, for the pupils decided 
that if it were presented skillfully it could be made very 
funny. 

Value of such a lesson. The writer observed a part of 
this recitation, and was impressed with the enthusiasm and 
interest with which the pupils read and discussed. This is 
a fine example of the study-recitation type of silent reading, 
which should be used occasionally for the purpose of ob- 
serving the pupils' silent-reading habits and for the purpose 
of developing better study habits. However, most of the 
silent-reading lessons should be of the type requiring definite 
study preparation in connection with problems set by the 
teacher or conceived by the pupils. This particular recita- 
tion is especially good in several respects. The pupils were 



134 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

learning how to select, compare, judge, exclude, appropri- 
ate, put together, and draw conclusions. It forced the slow 
readers to become more alert, concentrate better, and in- 
crease their rate of reading. The discussion helped them 
to keep the connection, to see their lack of thought-getting, 
and provided a motive for renewed effort. It resulted in 
keen appreciation of the characteristic elements of this unit 
of literature. The absence of oral-reading in no way hin- 
dered the appreciation of the humor of the selection. In 
fact the rapidity of the silent reading was a distinct ad- 
vantage over the slowness of oral reading, in so far as the 
appreciation of the humor was concerned. 

The recitation just described illustrates the advantage of 
one major problem as a substitute for the oral-reading in 
serving as a steering compass as the recitation proceeds. 
One problem here sufficed for the consideration of a unit 
of twelve pages of average-sized print. Note how the 
teacher divided the main problem into subsidiary problems: 

Major problem: To plan a motion picture based upon this story, 
(a) Scenes — number, order. 
(jb) What to include in the scenes. 

Picture to be exciting, funny, sad or 

romantic? 

Note how the decision to make the picture " funny " pro- 
vided a constant contact between the details and the 
teacher's main purpose in developing appreciation of the 
humor. Also note that the pupils were constantly told to 
look for something definite. For instance, at the beginning 
they were told to decide upon the opening scene. In this 
recitation the pupils' attention was centered upon the larger 
values, but they were constantly scrutinizing and analyzing 
detail and reorganizing it in terms of the ultimate outcomes 
the teacher desired to have realized. 



CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 135 

A word of warning may not be out of place with reference 
to attempts to use the motion-picture problem in connec- 
tion with units to which it will not apply. One of the most 
important parts of the teacher's preparation for teaching a 
unit of reading matter is the formulation of appropriate 
problems. The selection of the problem used in the pre- 
ceding illustration was very fortunate, but the writer has 
seen attempts by other teachers to use this same problem, 
with units not containing material for a good motion pic- 
ture, which were unfortunate. The skillful teacher will 
make sure that her problems are adapted to the content 
of the reading matter, and that their solution will focus 
attention upon the leading ideas. 



V. A SEKIES OF FIVE EIGHTH-GRADE RECITATIONS ON 
"THE MAN WITHOUT A country". 

First recitation. The following assignment was made 
preliminary to the study period for the recitation: 

Read the book through as rapidly as you caD, simply to get and 
enjoy the story. If you are a rapid reader, you can do this in 
thirty minutes. If you do not complete it during the period, take 
the book home and complete it. 

The time set for reading the story was estimated in the 
following manner: The number of words in each of several 
lines was determined. There appeared to be an average of 
eight words to the line. By multiplying by the number of 
lines on a page, we found the estimate for a page to be two 
hundred and forty-eight words. By actual count this page 
contained two hundred and forty-five words. According 
to the standard rate of reading for the average eighth- 
grade pupil, this is about the number of words he should 
read in a minute. There are forty-two pages in the story. 
An average reader would then complete the story in from 



136 SILENT AND ORAL READING ' 

forty to forty-five minutes, and a rapid reader in about 
thirty minutes. 

At the beginning of the first recitation the following list 
of problems were placed upon the blackboard, and all the 
pupils were asked to copy them into their study notebooks: 

1. Give facts and incidents that show how Nolan was punished 
for damning the United States and wishing never to hear of 
her again. 

2. What were the main activities that Nolan had for occupy- 
ing his time? List four of them in their order of importance. 

3. Prove that Nolan loved his country dearly. 

4. Contrast Nolan's character as a young man, and his char- 
acter as revealed in the story from about the age of forty 
until his death. 

There was some discussion as to the time it took different 
pupils to read the story, in order to direct their attention to 
rate as a factor in efficient reading. Then they were told 
to note how well the rapid readers were able to respond to 
the above questions in comparison with the slowest ones. 
Then followed a discussion of the first problem. Many 
interesting contributions were made. A few had to be 
ruled out as not being relevant to the problem. A sum- 
mary was made of the more important ones. A beginning 
on the second problem was made. During the study period 
for the second recitation the pupils were asked to formulate 
the list called for in the second problem, and collect facts 
for a debate on the third. 

Second recitation. The second recitation opened with a 
consideration of the lists in answer to the second question. 
Differences of opinion as to which activities should be in- 
cluded in the approved list and as to their order of impor- 
tance brought in a discussion of a great many interesting 
details, compelled the pupils to weigh values, select and 
reject, to " give reason for the faith that was in them," 



CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 137 

and resulted in considerable debate in which the teacher 
was a tactful and judicious referee. The value of a correct 
solution of the problem was not nearly so great as was the 
thinking that was aroused and the experience provided by 
this procedure. A beginning was made on the third prob- 
lem, and groups voluntarily arranged to debate the ques- 
tion. Some whose memory clung more to the first part of 
the story chose the negative. The remainder of the pupils 
agreed to report upon the fourth problem. 
\- Third recitation. During the informal, promiscuous 
debate the pupils spontaneously arose at different times 
and read sentences or paragraphs to support their points. 
Of course the poorer readers and thinkers who had selected 
the negative were routed by those on the affirmative, but 
the losers had learned, in a concrete way, something of the 
importance of relative values in drawing conclusions. 

Fourth recitation. In the consideration of the fourth 
problem there was opportunity to emphasize the more 
important ethical values of the story in relation to character 
development. For the closing recitation the following 
problem was assigned: 

Select one of the most interesting incidents and be prepared to 
read it to the class. 

A number were suggested by the pupils and they were 
left to make their own selections, with the caution that the 
selection must be brief so there would be time for a good 
many to read. 

Fifth recitation. The last recitation was given over to 
the enjoyment of the audience reading indicated in the 
problem assigned. 

It will be seen that in this plan there is no attempt to go 
through the story consecutively from the beginning to the 
end. Oftentimes the discussion on one of j the problems 
would necessitate the pupiPs relating a part of the story, 



138 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

or a questioning of certain pupils about the facts of the 
story, but these factual reproductions and questions were 
always subsidiary elements to a problem involving con- 
centration upon the large view of the story. Pupils who 
were able to take little or no part in the discussions were 
stimulated to read more selectively, and with greater con- 
centration in their study-preparation for the next recitation. 
This type of oral reading and the type indicated in the 
fifth problem have some incentive, some purpose in con- 
trast to the procedure which involves oral reading be- 
cause of a vague notion that all the material in the reading 1 
lesson must be read orally. 

Provide an abundance of red-blooded silent-reading 
material. It will be noted that the first assignment in the 
lesson last given provided for a rapid reading of the whole 
of The Man Without a Country at one sitting. This is the 
way the average individual desires to read a unit of this 
type in the ordinary life situation. It is also true that 
pupils in school desire to go through to the end of an 
absorbing story of this kind without interruption, and with- 
out deliberation upon any set problems or points to watch 
for. If there were more provision in school for this kind of 
reading experience, with real red-blooded material that 
appeals to the pupils' love of adventure and spirited action, 
the teacher would have less difficulty with pupils reading 
the forbidden dime novel under cover of a large geography 
book. Irvin Cobb * testifies that, if he had a son twelve to 
fourteen years old, he would supply him liberally with 
reading matter of the type of the Nick Carter, Cap Collier, 
Deadwood Dick, and the Jesse James books, and say to 
him: 

Read them openly. . . . Read them for their brisk and stirring 

1 Cobb, Irvin. "A Plea for Old Cap Collier"; in Saturday Evening 
Post, July 3. 1920. . 



CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 139 

movement; for the spirit of outdoor adventure and life which 
crowds them; for their swift but logical processions of sequences; 
for the phases of Pioneer Americanism they rawly but graphically 
portray, and for their moral values. Read them along with your 
Coopers and your Ivanhoe and your Mayne Reids. Read them 
through, and perhaps some day, if fortune is kinder to you than 
ever it was to your father, with a background behind you and a 
vision before you, you may be inspired to sit down and write a 
dime novel of your own almost good enough to be worthy of men- 
tion in the same breath with the two greatest adventure stories — 
dollar-sized dime novels is what they really are ■ — that ever were 
written; written, both of them, by writing men, who, I'm sure, 
must have based their moods and their modes upon the memories 
of the dime novels which they, they in their turn, read when they 
were boys of your age. I refer to a book called Huckleberry Finn, 
and to a book called Treasure Island. 

5. Lists of Books Suitable for Use 

Books as interesting as a dime novel. In 1907 Professor 
W. W. Charters wrote to twenty-four of the largest cities 
in the United States and asked the city librarian to send 
him the titles of the twelve books which boys of the dime- 
novel age found to be as interesting as the dime novel. In 
1917 he wrote again, and from the replies compiled a list 
of the most popular books of this type. This list he pub- 
lished 1 and it is reproduced below. The numbers following 
each title indicate the frequency of mention by the li- 
brarians of the twenty-four cities. 

Stevenson: Treasure Island (17). 

Clemens: Tom Sawyer (13). 

Otis: Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus (10). 

Verne: 20,000 Leagues under the Sea (9). 

Altsheler: The Young Trailers (8). 

Clemens: Huckleberry Finn (6). 

Drysdale : The Fast Mail (6). 

1 School and Society, March 13, 1920. Also reproduced in the Course of 
Study for the Atlanta Public Schools for 1920-21. 



140 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

Carruth : ; Track's End (5) . 

Grinnell: Jack, the Young Ranchman (5). 

Masefield: Jim Davis (5). 

Altsheler : Last of the Ch iefs (4) . 

Barbour: Crimson Sweater (4). 

Burton: Boys of Bob's Hill (4). 

Cody: Adventures of Buffalo Bill (4). 

Defoe: Robinson Crusoe (4). 

London: Call of the Wild (4). 

Monroe: Cab and Caboose (4). 

Quirk : Boy ScouU of the Black Eagle Patrol (4), 

Schultz : With the Indians in the Rockies (4). 

Altsheler: Horsemen of the Plains (3). 

Brown : Two Boys in a Gyro Car (3) . 

Grinnell: Jack among the Indians (3). 

Malone : Winning His Way to West Point (3). 

Mason: Tom Strong (3). 

Moffet : Careers of Danger and Daring (3) .] 

Sabin: Bar B Boys (3). 

Sab in : Buffalo Bill and the Overland Trail (3). 

Stevenson: Young Train Dispatcher (3). 

Wallace: Wilderness Castaways (3). 

An abundance of material for extensive reading experi- 
ence that partakes of the spirit of travel, of contest, of 
exciting experience, of spirited conversation, of rapid 
action, of heroic endeavor, of courageous battle, in short, 
that carries the pupil through the whole round of world 
situations and experiences in the way in which the child and 
youth desire to be carried, should be furnished for class- 
room purposes. Much of this should be read by the pupils 
without particular classroom consideration. Consider- 
able amounts should be considered class fashion as The 
Man Without a Country was treated in the series of lessons 
previously described. 

List of books suitable for class use, by grades. The fol- 
lowing is a brief list of books suitable for classroom use for 
extensive silent-reading purposes, arranged by grades: 



CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 



141 



Grades 3 and If. 



Defoe: 


Robinson Crusoe. 


Baldwin: 


Old Greek Stories. f 


Baldwin: 


Old Stories of the East. 


Stickney: 


Andersen's Fairy Tales. 


Wiltse: - 


Grimm's Fairy Tales. 


Barrie-Perkins: 


Peter Pan. 


Shaw: 


Big People and Little People of Other 




Lands. 


Andrews: 


Seven Little Sisters. 


Cowels: 


Going to School in Animal Land. 


Chance: 


Little Folks of Many Lands. 


Grades k and 5 


Cellodi-Cramp-Lochwood : 


Pinocchio. 


Lane: 


Arabian Nights Entertainments. 


"Washburne: 


Indian Legends. 


Pyle: 


Some Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. 


Sewell: 


Black Beauty. 


Schultz: 


Sinopah the Indian Boy. 


Moran: 


Kwahu the Hopi Indian Boy, 


Hawthorne: 


The Wonder-Book. 


Carroll: 


Alice in Wonderland. 


Perkins: 


The Japanese Twins. 


Otis (Pioneer Series) : 


Benjamin of Ohio. 


McDonald and Dalrymple 




(Little People Every- 




where Series): 


Betty in Canada. 


Grades 5 and 6 


Warren: 


King Arthur and His Knights. 


Swift: 


Gulliver's Travels. 


Leblanc: 


The Blue Bird for Children. • 


Mabie:_; 


Norse Stories. 


Kipling: 


The Jungle Book. 


Sharp: 


Beyond the Pasture Bars. 


Schwartz: 


Wilderness Babies. 


Ouida: 


The Niirnberg Stove. 


Seton: 


Lobo, Rag, and Vixen. 


Seton: 


Krag and Johnny Bear. 


Harris: 


' Uncle Remus. 



142 



SILENT AND ORAL READING 



Hawthorne: 


Tanglewood Tales. 


Ruskin: 


King of the Golden River. 


Wyss: 


Swiss Family Robinson. 




Grades 6 and 7 


Mark Twain: 


Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 


Hasbrouck: 


The Boys' Parkman. 


Spyri : 


Heidi. 


Aldrich: 


Story of a Bad Boy. 


Eggleston: 


Hoosier School Boy. 


Dodge: 


Hans Brinker. 


Mabie: 


Heroes Every Child Should Know. 


Coe: 


Heroes of Every Day Life. 


Grenfell: 


Adrift on an Ice Pan. 


Sharp: 


Roof and Meadow. 




Grades 7 and 8 


Curtis: 


In the Land of the Head Hunters. 


Curtis : 


Indian Days of Long Ago. 


Wells: 


Hoiu the Present Came Out of the Past 


Mark Twain: 


Travels in History. 


Mark Twain: 


Travels at Home. 


Stevenson : 


Treasure Island. 


Rutland: 


Old Testament Stories. 


Helen Keller: 


The Story of My Life. 


Hawthorne* 


The Great Stone Face. 


Irving : 


The Legend cf Sleepy Hollow. 


Kipling: 


Captains Courageous. 


Mark Twain: 


The Prince and the Pauper. 


Dana: 


Two Years before the Mast. 


Hale: 


The Man Without a Country. 


Hughes: 


Tom Brown's School Days. 


Stowe: 


Uncle Tom's Cabin. 



Silent-reading selections, by grades. The following is a 
list of readings, arranged by grades, with suggested prob- 
lems and exercises: 

Grade 2 
"The Wise Lion" — 6 pages — Edson-Lang First Reader. 
1. Just why do you think the Lion was wise? 



CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 143 

2. What did the rabbit think that was foolish? 

3. What did the rabbit do that was foolish? 

"The Fairies' Secret" — 7 pages — The New Barnes Second 
Reader. 

1. Name the three kinds of fairies mentioned. 

2. Write the sentence that is the fairies' secret. 

"Little Two Eyes" — 13 pages — Free and Treadwell First Reader. 

1. Write four things the two sisters did to make Little Two Eyes 
unhappy. 

2. Why do you think the little old woman and the prince helped 
Little Two Eyes? 

Grade 3 
"The Little Builder" — 5 pages — Baldwin and Bender Second 
Reader. 

1. Write the five words that tell the five persons and things the 
boy appealed to for building blocks. 

2. Do you think any little boy would have done what this boy 
did to get the blocks? 

" Cedar Tree's Reward " — 9 pages — Story-Hour Second Reader. 

1. Write the names of the four trees appealed to by the blue bird. 

2. What was the cedar tree's reward? 

"Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp" — 9 pages — Merrill Third 
Reader. 

1. Read through to the end rapidly to get the story. Do not 
bother about words you cannot pronounce. 

2. Why was the stranger so good to Aladdin in the first part of 
the story? 

3. How did the stranger intend to reward Aladdin for getting 
the lamp? 

4. Mention five incidents in the story where magic worked a 
wonder. 

5. Go through the story again and write the 8 words most 
unfamiliar to you. 

"The Faithful Beasts" — 10 pages — Literary Reader, II. 

1. Copy the sentence which tells why the animals helped the 
man. 

2. What did the mouse do to help, that neither the bear nor 
monkey could do? 

3. What did the bear do to help, that neither the monkey nor 
the mouse could do? 



144 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

4. Make a drawing to illustrate lines 6, 7, 8, and 9 on page 83. 
(Bear swimming, monkey on bear's back with magic stone 
in his mouth, mouse in bear's ear.) 
"The Stone Cutter" — 5 pages — Riverside Third Reader, 

1. Read the story through. 

2. Re-read and write the places where something important 
happened. 

3. Be able to name the people in the story. 

4. Glance through the story hastily, counting the number of 
wishes Hof us made, and write the number. 

5. What did Hofus learn? 

Grade 4 
"The Bear, the Boar, and the Fox" — 5 pages — Edson-Lang 
Third Reader. 
1. On a sheet of paper plan for three columns, headed like this: 
1. Bear 2. Boar 3. Fox 

Place each of the following under one of the three, as you think 
is most nearly correct according to the story: 

(1) sly (2) cowardly (3) piggish (4) stupid (5) unfair (6) 
industrious (7) high-tempered (8) bluffer (9) plower (10) 
sower (11) boss (12) winner (13) schemer. 
"Why the Sea is Salt" — 12 pages — Story -Hour Third Reader. 

1. According to the story why is the sea salt? 

2. What mistake did the rich brother and the captain both 
make? 

"The Emperor's Test " — 12 pages — Riverside Fourth Reader. (In 
dramatic form.) 

1. Read the play through rapidly to get the story. 

2. In recitation the pupils may act the play without the books. 
Re-read it carefully so you will know when to talk, about 
what to say, and what to do. Do not try to memorize the 
lines. The pupils who are not assigned as characters will be 
the audience. In case an actor fails one of the audience may 
take his place. 

(As a part of the assignment the teacher designates a pupil 
for each of the eleven characters.) 



Grade 



"The Maid of Orleans" — 8 pages — Natural-Method Fourth, 
Reader. 



CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 145 

1. Read the story through rapidly. 

2. In your geography, on the map of Europe, find France and 
England. Locate the two important cities of France men- 
tioned in the story. 

3. Did Joan of Arc succeed or fail? 

(a) In what way did she fail? 

(6) Did the French succeed in driving the English out of 
France? 

(c) How did her life help the French? 

(d) How did her death help the French? 

"Who is the Happiest Man?" — 6 pages — Baldwin and Bender 
Fifth Reader. 

1. Read the story through rapidly and close the book. 

2. Then copy the characters as listed, and place after each the 
one of the following words which is appropriate: 

wealth mercy wisdom service martyr 

Characters 
Cyrus Solon Tellus 

Crcesus The Two Young Men 

"The Talking Saddle " — Joel Chandler Harris — 11 pages — 
Selections from Riverside Literature for Fifth Grade. 

1. Read to the end rapidly to get the story. 

2. Who is the chief character in the story? 

3. What is the first thing we learn of Tip-Top that would make 
an important change in his life? 

4. Divide the story into scenes for dramatization. 

Grade 6 
"Horace Greeley, — Journalist" — 10 pages — Riverside Sixth 
Reader. 

1. Give two illustrations of the pluck of the young man. 

2. Select three sentences that tell things that Greeley did that 
helped him succeed. 

3. Pluck was one of his characteristics. List five words of your 
own that describe other characteristics of Greeley. 

"The Sugar Camp" — 6 pages — Literary Reader, Book VI. 

1. What do you think interested the boy most? 

2. What would have interested you most? 

"When Hannibal Finished the Bridge" — 11 pages — Boys* and 
Girls' Sixth Reader. 



146 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

(An elephant is used in building the bridge. He scents a 
jaguar and a death struggle results.) 

1. Give two illustrations to show that Hannibal had the feeling 
of a wild elephant. 

2. Select the section of about a half page that you think con- 
tains the most thrilling scene. 

3. Select the two sections that you think best to read aloud. 

4. Show that Tom was a brave boy. 

Grade 7 
"A Fight with the Pirates" — Stevenson — 8 pages — Riverside 
Seventh Reader. 

1. Read through to the end to get the story. 

2. Re-read carefully, and make a diagram showing the stockade, 
the blockhouse, and the location of each of the defenders and 
the fighting equipment. 

3. Which side won? 

4. Select three sentences that are good expressions of rapid 
action. 

"An Apple Story" — 9 pages — The Holton- Curry Seventh Reader. 

1. Read the story through for the enjoyment of it. 

2. Explain the pun on "ruminating." If necessary look up its 
meaning in the glossary. 

3. Select five other words upon which the author makes puns, 
and be prepared to read the puns to the class. 

4. Relate the two most ludicrous things that happen in the story. 

Grade 8 
"The Great Stone Face" — 21 pages — Elson Eighth Reader. } 

Helps to Study * 

1. What part of the description of the Great Stone Face do you 
like the best? 

2. What influence had this Face upon the valley? Upon the 
clouds? Upon the sunshine? 

3. Show how each of the four characters failed to realize the 
ideal. 

1 Elson, William H. Elson Grammar-School Reader, Book iv (for eighth 
grade), p. 162. 



CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 147 

4. What purpose do you think Hawthorne had in creating these 
characters? 

5. Why did so many people think that each of these men was 
the image of the Great Stone Face? 

6. Why did not Ernest think so? 

7. What were the characteristics of the ideal? What words 
name them? 

8. What does the Great Stone Face symbolize? 

9. What words tell you the source of Ernest's power? 

10. What lines tell you of his humility? 

11. Summarize his characteristics. 

12. What pictures do you find in the selection? 

13. Point out sentences that contain examples of alliteration. 

14. Find a humorous sentence. 

15. Who were the Titans? 

16. Who was Midas? 



6. Problems of Illustrative Representation 

' Types of illustrations. There are a few selections in 
almost any school reader which are adapted to illustrative 
representation. This may be in the form of pictorial draw- 
ings in black or colored crayola on manila paper, of simple 
cuttings, of illustrated cuttings, of diagrams or graphs, 
of silhouette illustrations, of map drawings, or of construc- 
tions. As a rule pupils delight in making illustrations. 

Purposes. From the viewpoint of the reading, the value 
of the illustrating is to provide a specific purpose for careful, 
critical reading, to test the accuracy of the reading, and to 
make more concrete the content of the material. It pro- 
vides interesting seat work, and, if skillfully directed, applies 
the reading ability to a concrete situation for a definite 
purpose. A finished art production is not at all essential 
in so far as the value to the reading is concerned. The 
pupils' crude productions may be fuller of meaning to them 
than the finished art productions which adorn the pages 
pf their books. 



148 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

Correlation with drawing. Illustrating reading material 
provides an excellent opportunity for correlation between 
reading and the drawing or art work. During reading- 
time the content may be taught in relation to the illustra- 
tion work, while the actual drawing or construction is done 
during drawing-time. In the reading recitation, the 
problems in relation to the content of the illustrations are 
raised and the reading-content interpreted in relation to 
these problems. After the illustrations are made, they are 
critically scrutinized in reading-time to determine whether 
they portray correctly the thoughts and ideas of the read- 
ing-content. This sort of correlation is of advantage to 
both the drawing and the reading. It produces better 
illustrative work in the drawing, and better thinking and 
richer experience in the reading. 

Lesson steps. The following steps come naturally in 
each illustrative lesson: 

1. Assignment. During the assignment the teacher 
suggests that the pupils may be interested in making some 
illustrations of a certain type. The following would be a 
good assignment: 

Read the selection through rapidly to get the story. 

Re-read and decide which type of illustration, construction or 

crayola drawings it will be best to use. 
Select two passages suitable for illustration. 

2. Recitation. During the recitation there is a discussion 
and decision as to the type of illustration to use. Then the 
various sections chosen by the pupils for illustration are 
considered. Any unsuitable ones are discovered by the 
class and ruled out. A certain number of the best ones are 
listed, from which the pupils may choose. The content 
that should go into these illustrations, or the composition 
of the illustrations, is discussed. 



CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 149 

3. Illustrations. The illustrations are made during 
drawing-time, at home, or during reading-study-time. 

If,. Second recitation. In the next recitation the illustra- 
tions are critically scrutinized. The illustration or illustra- 
tions of a particular section are exhibited to the class while 
the class reads the section carefully, or while a pupil reads 
the section to the class as audience reading. Is the illustra- 
tion representative of the general spirit of the story? Does 
it portray correctly the picture of the section? 

An example of an illustration lesson, taken from Irving, 
will show the possibilities of such work. 

ILLUSTRATING "RIP VAN WINKLE " — AN EIGHTH- 
GRADE LESSON 

The writer used the procedure outlined above in teaching 
Rip Van Winkle to an eighth-grade class. The pupils took 
great pleasure in making the crayola drawings. Some of 
the illustrations were very good from the standpoint of the 
principles of drawing, but did not show appreciation of the 
spirit of the story or accurate portrayal of the facts. Others 
were rather crude drawings, but showed a grasp of essential 
values and facts. From the standpoint of the reading in- 
struction, the latter type would be considered the better. 
Of course there were some that were good in both phases 
and some poor in both. 

The problems raised in the original assignment provided 
the specific purpose for the silent reading during study- 
time. Likewise, as the pupils were making their drawings, 
they would at times refer back to the book and re-read. 
The pupils placed a title or statement from the story under- 
neath the picture to characterize it. 

The greatest value in relation to the development of 
reading ability was realized during the time that the pictures 
were being critically considered in relation to the reading- 



150 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

content. This was conducted as audience reading. One 
pupil held the drawing so the class could see it. It was 
necessary to see that the pupil held the picture so that it 
got the proper light, and so that it faced properly toward 
the pupils. The pupil who made the drawing read from the 
story the part he had illustrated. The remainder of the 
class listened with books closed, and with two problems 
in mind. Is the picture in harmony with the general 
spirit and setting of Rip Van Winkle? Is there a cor- 
rect portrayal of the detailed facts given in the selection 
read? 

One boy presented a picture of Rip mending his fence. 
Some more thoughtful pupils challenged this as not being 
in keeping with the character of Rip. The pupil who made 
the drawing was unable to substantiate the fact from any 
statement in the story. This experience no doubt helped to 
make a better reader of him. He had failed to verify the 
facts he portrayed by reference to the reading matter. The 
failure of pupils to take this step of verification in careful 
reading is very common. One of the teacher's problems is 
how to get such pupils to check up their impressions and 
conclusions by a careful scrutiny of the reading-content. 
Such experiences as this boy had, under sympathetic and 
helpful direction, will be a help in that direction. 

Many teachers use illustration to excellent advantage 
without necessarily following the procedure outlined in this 
instance. The photographic reproductions given opposite 
show some possibilities of group illustration. 

Briggs and Coffman, in their volume on Reading in the 
Public Schools, pages 120-27, show silhouette illustrations 
for "Old Pipes and the Dryads." Through a series of 
eighteen simple illustrations the complete story is por- 
trayed. The appropriate sentences accompany each illus- 
tration. 




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CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 151 

Units suitable for illustration. In planning a lesson in- 
volving the use of problems of illustration, it is very im- 
portant to select units that easily lend themselves to the 
type of illustration contemplated. Units that portray an 
abundance of action, and scenes with outstanding charac- 
teristics, are adapted to pictorial drawings or cuttings. 
Where the color characteristics are prominent, colored 
crayolas should be used. Where there is little color, but 
plenty of action, use black crayola, or make cuttings from 
black paper and mount them on white paper, or from white 
paper and mount them on black paper or cloth. 

Most teachers in the intermediate and upper grades will 
have some material that is adapted to illustration by 
diagrams, graphs, or maps. The " Fight with the Pirates/' 
from Stevenson's Treasure Island, will be much more con- 
crete to the pupils if they are asked to make a diagram 
showing the location of the stockade, blockhouse, etc. 
This is also a good test of reading ability. A good problem 
in map illustration to use in teaching is found in a selection 
in the Baldwin Seventh Reader entitled, " The Great Fight 
at Aldreth," an excerpt from Kingsley's Hereward y the 
Last of the English. 

The use made of this latter selection by one teacher came 
under the observation of the writer. The pupils were asked 
during their study-time to read the selection through, and 
then to make a map drawing showing the location of the 
various points, rivers, etc., mentioned. The stronghold to 
be attacked by the Normans was upon an island formed by 
the encircling of a wide river. The only approaches were 
obstructed by meres, fens, reeds, mud, floating peat-beds, 
and slimy water. The account is so written that it takes 
very close reading to visualize the map-scene. Notwith- 
standing the difficulty of the reading, several of the pupils 
made diagrams giving a very adequate representation of 



152 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

the reading matter. This was an excellent test of their 
reading ability. Several pupils made a flat failure, showing 
a lack of ability to get anything approaching an adequate 
conception of the setting through their reading. But the 
discussion of the maps in recitation and the making by the 
class of a blackboard map, proving and disproving what 
should or should not be in the construction of the map, 
involved such reading activity as these poorer readers were 
in need of, and did much to clear up their hazy and inade- 
quate conceptions. 

7. Problems Relating to Dramatization 

An example of such work. Dramatization is a type of 
problem which may be utilized to excellent advantage in 
silent-reading lessons with units not written in dramatic 
form, but having dramatic characteristics. The Merrill 
Fourth Reader has a prose adaptation of Browning's " Pied 
Piper." This was dramatized by a class as a part of a 
school entertainment. The study and recitation for this 
type of silent reading would be about as follows: 

Assignment: 

1. Read the selection through to get the story. 

2. Write out a cast of characters, similar to the one at the be- 
ginning of the play on page 280 of your Reader. 

8. Decide how many scenes there should be. 

4. Decide upon an imaginary stage-setting for each. 

Several of the pupils write their cast of characters on the 
blackboard. They are compared and criticized. Refer- 
ences to the text are made when necessary. A correct cast 
of characters is formulated with the aid of the pupils, if 
none of the pupils do not already have a correct one. The 
problems of the different scenes are discussed, and a solu- 
tion placed on the blackboard. The discussion of the 



CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 153 

imaginary stage-setting naturally accompanies the discus- 
sion of the scenes. The characters for the dramatization 
are assigned. Substitutes are assigned for each character, 
to take part in case of absence or failure. The pupils are 
told to prepare for the play by becoming thoroughly 
familiar with the story, so they will know when to talk, 
what to say, and what to do, and to give particular attention 
to the characters they represent. 

Value of dramatizing. Opportunity is offered to corre- 
late language and reading by having the story dramatized. 
There would be no attempt to costume or to provide stage- 
setting other than to use what is at hand in the schoolroom. 
Children enjoy the imaginary part of it. The dramatizing 
should be spontaneous and free. If a pupil does not know 
what to do or say, and continues to delay the play, allow a 
substitute to take his place. Such a failure should be recog- 
nized by the pupils as serious as any other failure in school 
work due to lack of preparation or lack of ability to com- 
prehend the material studied. The dramatization becomes 
a test of the pupil's ability to read well silently, provides a 
motive for his effort in study and recitation, and makes 
the situation real or concrete to him. The value of the 
dramatization in relation to silent reading does not lie in 
the excellence of the dramatizing, but rather in the fact 
that as a problem-project it forms the basis for the study 
and recitation procedure for a series of silent-reading 
recitations. Its primary purpose should be kept constantly 
in mind by the teacher. 

Among some teachers there is an impression that drama- 
tization is merely a primary-grade activity, but dramatiza- 
tion, as a means of motivating the silent-reading work, is 
adapted to any grade. Especially in the upper grades, 
where the new social instincts are beginning to play an 
important part, is dramatization important. The following 



154 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

paragraphs, taken from Briggs and Coffman, 1 set forth 
well the social benefits and place of this type of work : 

The enthusiasts claim that dramatic work in connection with 
reading brings the pupil and teacher into a new relation, where, 
for the first time, they actually become acquainted. Of course this 
acquaintanceship is unreal and likely ineffective in its results in 
case the teacher fails to live in the play on the level of her children. 
However, when this result is achieved, the work will not be pleas- 
urable simply, it will be a positive delight and enjoyment. Unless 
this spirit saturates the work, the social benefits to be derived from 
it are of no more real value than superficial manners are to an 
individual in good society. 

A stage effect is never to be sought, merely a realistic reading. 
Costumes, paraphernalia, a platform — none of these is essential. 
The imagination will supply them all. All dramatic work in school 
can be justified only on the ground that it affords an opportunity 
for reading. It represents, in the first place, the child's interpreta- 
tion of the selection. After the play has been sympathetically 
criticized by both the teacher and pupils, it can then be read, or 
rather re-read, with increased meaning, vitality, and force. So 
dramatic reproduction stands between reading for understanding 
on the one hand and reading for interpretation on the other. It 
is not indulged in for mere entertainment — in fact, it should never 
be permitted for this alone. 

Because of the unique place it holds in the mastery of a given 
selection, there will be no special time for it, nor can it be given 
every day. It may be used with increasing frequency, as fluency 
is gained in reading, but it will always be used more in the lower 
than in the upper grades. 

As indicated above, the art-element is present when children 
yield with freedom to an intense, urgent desire for expression. 
The crudities of their speech must be left for future correction. 
Many of them will drop out, through imitating the teacher, long 
before the time for correcting them is reached. Of course, all 
flagrant abuses of language must be corrected, but, in the main, 
the freedom and inventiveness of the children should not be inter- 
fered with. 

1 Briggs and Coffman. Reading in Public Schools, chap. x. Row 
Peterson Company. 



CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 155 

What not to dramatize. Sara Cone Bryant points out 1 
in an effective way what we should not have pupils drama- 
tize: 

The teacher, on the other hand, must avoid with great judg- 
ment certain absurdities which can easily be initiated by her. 
The first direful possibility is in the choice of material. It is very 
often desirable that children should not be allowed to dramatize 
stories of a kind so poetic, so delicate, or so potentially valuable 
that the material is in danger of losing future beauty to the pupils 
through its present crude handling. Mother Goose is a hardy old 
lady and will not suffer from the grasp of the seven-year-old; and 
the familiar tales and fables of the "Goldilocks" variety have a 
firmness of surface which does not let the glamour rub off; but 
stories in which there is a hint of the beauty just beyond the pal- 
pable — or of a dignity suggestive of developed literature — are 
sorely hurt in their metamorphosis, and should be protected from 
it. They are for telling only. 

8. Plans for Individual and Group Reading 

Group work in silent reading. All of the lessons previ- 
ously described in this chapter have involved the reading 
of the same material by all the pupils of a class. All of the 
pupils work upon the same problems. The study- work is 
largely upon the individual basis. In the type of recitation 
common in schools, though, there is some opportunity for 
cooperative effort. The reaction of the pupils is very 
largely a response to the teacher as the center of interest 
and activity. There are those who advocate that the 
methods of handling the work should be such as to allow 
more opportunity for cooperative effort on the part of 
groups within the class. It is claimed that this sort of 
activity and experience will give a valuable training that is 
needed in a democracy. One way to encourage group work 
is to provide reading books in small sets of five to ten. 

1 Bryant, Sara Cone. Stories to Tell to Children, p. 39. Houghton 
Mifflin Company. 



156 , SILENT AND ORAL READING . 

Then one group could be assigned a unit of reading matter 
from one book, and another group from another book. 
Each group would study in a cooperative way and make a 
report to the class as a whole. 

Reading material in dramatic form l is adapted to this 
type of work. One group is assigned one drama to read 
silently and, after cooperative preparation, to dramatize 
for the whole class, while another group is assigned another 
play. 

Books containing short, spirited units of narrative 
material for reproduction may also be used in this way. 
The books listed on page 105 for audience reading will be 
found adapted to the group silent-reading method. During 
the study period, the group first reads the story silently and 
works out, in a cooperative way, plans for presenting to the 
class the content of the unit read. The report may take 
the form of simply retelling the story, each pupil telling the 
part assigned to him during the cooperative group planning. 
It may take the form of dramatizing the story, or exhibiting 
a series of illustrations with explanations. Or it might take 
the form of presenting an outline of the material read. In 
some cases the group might plan the report so that one 
pupil would report upon the characters, another upon the 
point of highest interest, etc. 

Special plans for grouping. In connection with the 
reading of books, a group may select a book to report upon 
to the group. One school possessed five copies of Helen 
Keller's The Story of My Life. A group of five pupils agreed 
to read this and report to the class as to whether they would 
recommend the book for the others to read, and to give 
their reasons. 

In some schools, all the pupils of each room are organized 

1 Augusta Stevenson. Children s Classics in Dramatic Form, Books I 
to V. Houghton Mifflin Company. 



CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 157 

into teams, three to six teams to the room. There is a 
captain for each team. Usually each team is given different 
reading material. A part of the work is in the form of 
individual study, a part in the form of group conference or 
oral reading by turns, and a part in the form of a report or 
contribution by a group to the remainder of the pupils of 
the room. 

While group work has a place in connection with the con- 
tent silent-reading lessons, the larger portion of the time can 
probably be most profitably spent in lessons involving the 
reading of the same material by all members of the class. 
Even here, of course, there is some opportunity to assign 
different problems to different groups within the same class. 

Individual silent reading. The following lesson, which 
gives an account of a series of recitations involving the use 
of different material by each member of a fourth-grade class, 
illustrates this type of work. 

A Fourth-Grade Lesson 
From a miscellaneous collection of Third and Fourth 
Readers, a sufficient number was selected to provide each 
pupil in a fourth-grade class with a book containing a story 
of two to eight pages. The first recitation was given over 
to the distribution of the books, the choosing of the selection 
by each pupil, and suggestions regarding their silent-reading 
and study in preparation for their reports to the class. 
After the books were distributed, it was explained to the 
class that each pupil might choose a short selection of prose 
to read silently during study-time with a view to reporting 
upon it to the class. The teacher inspected the choice of 
each pupil to see that a selection of the desired type was 
chosen. Most of the pupils made good selections, but a 
few needed to be advised individually. Some even chose 
selections of poetry. This gave a good opportunity to 



158 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

teach some simple distinctions between poetry and prose. 
After the selections were all decided upon, the pupils were 
given suggestions regarding their silent reading and study. 
They were told first to note the subject carefully, then to 
read the selection through rapidly, and then to go through 
it again more carefully, making preparation for the report. 
Their attention was called to the vocabularies in dictionary 
form in the back of some of the books, and also to other 
study helps. Rather definite plans for the reports were 
then developed. It was decided that, in giving the reports 
in recitations to follow, the pupil would give the title of his 
selection, and that one or more of the following might be 
utilized in connection with the report: 

1. Tell the story briefly. 

St. Tell why the title is a good one. 

3. Suggest problems for the class to discuss. 

4. Give opportunity for the pupils to ask questions. 

5. Tell what interested you most. 

6. Who was the leading character and what was the main thing 
the leading character did? 

7. What was the main point of the selection? 

8. Use your own plan in reporting, if you wish. 

In the four succeeding recitations all the pupils reported 
upon their selections. From four to six pupils reported 
during each thirty-minute recitation. It was necessary, 
of course, at times for the teacher to guide the report and 
the discussion. In one case a pupil failed to report correctly 
an important word in the title, revealing that he had failed 
to get the main point of the selection. An investigation 
by a neighboring pupil brought out the main point. The 
pupil learned a point in pronunciation under a situation 
more conducive to retention than the usual fourth-grade 
reading situation. The pupils who had reported were al- 
lowed to exchange books, and read whatever interested 
them during the program study period for reading. In 



CONTENT SILENT-READING LESSONS 159 

this way a considerable amount of silent reading was done 
for the mere pleasure of the pupils, and without reference 
to any report. At the beginning some of the brighter 
pupils who volunteered were called upon for their reports, 
as a means of setting a good example for the less capable 
ones. Then the reports of the better and of the poorer 
ones were alternated so as to avoid a situation favorable 
to a lack of interest. 

Use of the room library. A similar plan, which some 
teachers find feasible, involves the use of the room library, 
consisting of forty-five books suitable to the grade. One 
reading period a week for the room is given over to the 
returning and taking out of these library books, and for the 
reports upon the books read. A plan similar to the one 
given above is followed in connection with these reports. 
This sort of plan enables the teacher to keep in close touch 
with the recreative reading of the pupils, stimulates interest 
in such reading, and enables the teacher to have a better 
knowledge of the pupils' reading interests and to lead the 
pupils to higher interests and tastes in reading. 

PROBLEMS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Why has silent-reading instruction lagged so far behind the recom- 
mendations of psychologists and other educational experts? 

2. What per cent of the program reading-time, in your grade, should be 
devoted to silent reading? 

3. Do you agree with the statement as to the essential difference between 
the oral- and the silent-reading method? If not, why not? 

4. Do you agree with the general statement as to when to use the oral- 
and when to use the silent-reading method? If not, why not? 

5. Choose a short unit of reading material (three to fifteen pages) and 
formulate a problem or problems to be used as a basis for the study 
and discussion. Are the requirements of good problems as stated 
fulfilled? 

C. Select a book for a particular grade of the type of those listed for 
extensive silent reading. Formulate a problem or problems for one 
chapter. Formulate a list of problems for use in a final perspective 
view of the book as a whole. 



160 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

7. Choose a unit of reading material suitable for rapid silent reading in 
recitation, according to a plan similar to that given for How I Killed 
a Bear. 

8. Choose a selection suitable to use according to the plan described for 
Rip Van Winkle. Choose a selection suitable to illustration by 
drawing diagrams, graphs, or maps. Choose a selection suitable 
for a group cutting or construction project. 

9. Choose a selection not in dramatic form, but suitable for dramatizing. 

10. Formulate a plan for using some particular book, furnished in a 
set of five to ten copies. 

11. Give an illustration of effective group work in silent reading. 

12. Try out the plan suggested for a series of recitations devoted to indi- 
vidual silent reading, and report results. 

13. Relate a plan for content silent reading different from any suggested 
in the chapter. 



CHAPTER VIII 

TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 

Content and training lessons contrasted. In the silent 
reading discussed in the preceding chapter, the primary aim 
and purpose lies in the value of the content in the pupils' 
experience. There are secondary training purposes, but 
these are always kept subordinate to the content-values. 
While that type of reading experience is adequate in de- 
veloping the desired silent-reading abilities on the part of 
a goodly portion of the pupils, it will not be adequate for 
another considerable portion. 

Training lessons will have as their primary aim the in- 
crease of the rate of reading and the improvement of the 
comprehension. While the content- values are secondary, 
and the material is selected because of its adaptation to 
specific training methods, the content used should always 
be worth while. While in the content silent-reading lessons 
everything is subordinate to having the pupils experience 
the content-values, in the training lessons experience in 
relation to the content- values is subordinate to the specific 
training purposes in view. The method of procedure of 
a particular recitation will be determined by the specific 
training purpose of that recitation. 

In the training lessons three main purposes are dominant : 
to increase the reading rate, to improve the pupils' compre- 
hension of both meaning and organization, and to expand 
the pupils' vocabulary. We shall consider each of these 
main purposes, in the order stated. 

1. Devices for increasing Rate 

Phrase-flashing. The flashing of phrases and short 
sentences was discussed in Chapter III in connection with 



162 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

the primary grades. In the intermediate grades and in 
ungraded rooms for backward pupils, phrase-flashing will 
be found to be helpful, for pupils who have not developed 
in reading ability beyond the primary stage, in increasing 
the length of the unit of recognition in a single pause. 
Oftentimes the backward pupil is a slow and laborious 
reader. His oral reading is often characterized by difficulty 
in quick recognition, lack of phrasing, and repetition. 
Photographs of the eye-movements of such pupils show 
many instances of regressive movements and periods of 
confusion. Phrase-flashing is one means of training for 
better eye-movement habits. The content should be such 
as will appeal to the age and interests of the pupils. The 
following is a set of phrases that would be likely to appeal 
to the boys: 



The Baseball Game 


Play ball 


Out field 


Play hard 


Home run 


Run fast 


Out at home 


Two-base hit 


A safe hit 


Hit the ball 


A foul ball 


Foul ball 


Out on first . 


Good play 


Good catch 



This could be played as a game with any number on a 
side and with a set of rules, as follows : 

A player recognizing a phrase, exposed for two to three 
fifths of a second, would advance the runners one base. 
A pupil failing in correct recognition would be out. 

A school might print or duplicate a reading lesson on this 
topic. 

In the Elson Grammar-School Reader, Book I (fifth 
grade), at the end of a selection entitled " Capturing the 
Wild Horse," a number of phrases are listed for special 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 163 

attention. Such a unit could be used to good advantage in 
increasing rate by using it as a test lesson in rate. When 
this has been done, practice phrase recognition for several 
days, and then test the rate again. The following phrases 
are listed in the Elson Reader: 

council of war rich herbage 

toilsome march thundering down the valley 

finely diversified scouring down the meadow 

diminutive size headlong chase 

pranced off swept down 

hotly pressed happily arranged 

pressed him gallantly this magic circle 

unbounded freedom flanking parties 

fringed with trees marred the whole scene 

autumnal flowers dashed furiously 

well mounted 

Every second, third, and fourth-grade teacher, and every 
teacher of ungraded pupils backward in reading, should 
have several sets of small flash-cards about two and one- 
half inches by three and one-half inches in size, each con- 
taining typewritten or printed phrases. 

Reading under a time limit. There are several different 
ways to proceed in handling a training lesson involving 
silent reading under a time limit. Two methods of pro- 
cedure that have been found successful will be described. 

Under the first plan, allow the class a specified time for 
silent reading, such as five minutes. All of the class read 
the same unit, beginning at the same point. Before be- 
ginning, the teacher states that this is an exercise to see 
how much each pupil can read in five minutes, and be able 
to reproduce what is read. The pupils begin and stop at 
the teacher's signals, marking the last word read. As they 
read, the teacher observes the pupils for habits of pointing 
with the finger, lip-movement, and vocalization. She also 
notes the fast readers and the too-slow readers. At the 



164 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

close of the time, the pupils count the number of pages or 
lines read, and each writes his name and the amount read 
on a slip of paper. The slips may easily be arranged in 
order of the amount read by calling them in in that order. 
Call upon the pupil who read the smallest amount to repro- 
duce what he read, and supplement his reproduction by 
criticism and suggestions from the class. As a rule the slow 
reader will not reproduce well. Intelligent individual-case 
analysis of the cause of poor silent-reading, with friendly 
advice, will usually mark a beginning in improvement. 
Then the next pupil in amount read continues the reproduc- 
tion, beginning where the other one stopped, and so on 
through the class. 

The following is the showing of a fourth-grade class as to 
rate in a lesson of this type: 

Riverside Fourth Reader. "How a King Was Found" 

Time 4 minutes 

No. lines read No. pupils 



35 


1 


40-49 


2 


50-59 


8 


60-69 


2 


70-79 


2 


80-89 


4 


90-99 


4 


145 


1 



Total 19 , 

Note that the fastest reader read four times as much as the 
slowest reader. An interesting fact revealed to the pupils 
was that the faster readers knew the first part of the story 
better than the slower readers. It is evident that the slower 
readers in this group are in need of special individual and 
small-group training in silent reading. 
The second plan is similar. Choose a rather long unit, 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 165 

Formulate a question for each paragraph or page. An- 
nounce to the pupils that you wish to see how rapidly they 
can read, and be able to answer questions on what they read. 
Allow the pupils to read until one or two have completed 
the unit, and then call " Time." Have each pupil write his 
name and the number of pages read on a slip of paper. 
The teacher arranges these slips, or calls them in, in order 
from the lowest to the highest, and follows this order in 
asking the questions which she has arranged in the order 
of the pages. The observation of habits, advice to pupils, 
and the general impression to be made, are the same as in 
the preceding plan. 
The following is the result as to rate of a fifth-grade class : 

Riverside Fifth Reader. "Gerasimus and the Lion" 

No. pages read No, pupils 

15 1 

14-10 3 

9-8 5 * 

7-5 6 

4 3 

In this case, also, the fastest reader read nearly four times 
as much as the slowest. It is evident that there are three 
very slow readers in this class who are in need of individual 
diagnosis and special training. 

Timing the pupil's reading. Assign a selection to be 
read through to the end by all pupils. When the first pupil 
finishes, he raises his hand and the teacher writes the time 
on the board. Every five seconds the teacher writes the 
time upon the board, and as the pupils finish they take the 
last time on the board as their time. If desired, pupils may 
calculate their rates in terms of the number of words per 
minute. Pupils should be given a definite idea of the 
standard rate for their grade. Each pupil should be en- 
couraged to increase his rate, in so far as possible and still 



166 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

maintain adequate comprehension. Any exercise in speed- 
ing up the rate of reading should be accompanied with some 
sort of informal check on comprehension, such as reproduc- 
tion or answering questions. 

Time records on reading outside of recitation. A valu- 
able exercise to increase rate is to assign a long unit of easy 
reading material, to be read during a study period or at 
home. The pupil records the time it took him to read the 
unit and reports to the teacher in writing. The compre- 
hension is checked up through the discussion of the unit. 

Re-reading for increase of rate. Investigators have 
found that the re-reading of material aids in forming better 
eye-movement habits, and therefore tends to increase the 
individual's rate in reading other similar material. The 
main problem in this connection is to provide a strong 
motive for the re-reading, so the second or third reading will 
be done with spirit and interest. In conducting silent- 
reading lessons teachers will often find opportunity to have 
the pupils re-read passages, and should encourage a rapid 
re-reading when the main purpose for the re-reading is to 
increase rate. 

Skimming. Is it ever advisable to skip in reading? 
Shall we teach pupils when and how to skim in reading? 
We hear a great deal about thoroughness in school work. 
It is well that this should be emphasized under some condi- 
tions. But there is a serious question as to whether over- 
emphasis upon it has not tended to hinder desirable growth 
in rate of reading. There are various types of silent reading, 
varying according to the purpose of the reader. We have 
the careful reading in study and the rapid, recreative 
reading. Skimming is a type of reading that is legitimate 
for certain purposes. We may glance over the pages of the 
newspaper, noting the headings in order to select what we 
shall read, to find a certain fact, or to determine if there is 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 167 

anything in the paper about a certain matter. We may 
look through an article or book, reading a little here and 
there to get the gist of the book or to determine whether we 
care to read it or not. Roosevelt is said to have done a 
great deal of rapid perusal of this type, showing a remark- 
able ability in getting the kernel of a book in a surprisingly 
short time. When a pupil has occasion to refer to a refer- 
ence book for specific data, he should be able to skip 
irrelevant matter. 

All of these types of skimming should be trained for in 
school; but care should be taken that pupils do not form 
the habit of skimming as a general practice in their reading. 
WTien an exercise in skimming is for the purpose of training 
the pupil to read much more rapidly, for a certain purpose, 
there should be a definite check upon how he comprehends 
in line with that purpose. Otherwise skimming will tend 
to decrease his comprehension in his ordinary reading. 

O'Brien's three types of training for speed. In connec- 
tion with a study already referred to in Chapters II and IV, 
Mr. O'Brien discusses the types of training used : 1 

Three types of training were developed. In Type I practice in 
rapid, silent reading was made the basic factor; in Type II the 
stress was placed coordinately upon the decrease of vocalization 
and practice in rapid, silent reading; while in Type III emphasis 
was directed upon training in perception by means of short expo- 
sure exercises, supplemented with practice in rapid reading. In 
Type I all the eleven foregoing factors except Nos. 2 and 3 were 
incorporated; in Type II, all except No. 3; and in Type III, all 
except No. 2. All three types of training have much in common — ■ 
the same auxiliary devices, the same technique. They differ chiefly 
in the factor which has been made the basic one in each method. 

Type I — Training in rapid, silent reading — will be outlined 

1 O'Brien, John A. " Development of Speed in Silent Reading"; in Twen- 
tieth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education. Public 
School Publishing Company, Bloomington, 111., 1921. 



,168 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

briefly, as it is typical of the general procedure in the other two 
methods. 

The teacher was instructed first to point out to the pupils the 
advantages of a rapid, effective rate of reading, and to enlist their 
whole-hearted effort in the attempt to develop such a habit. The 
method consisted essentially of alternate reading and reproduction. 
The reading period was broken into several reading stretches, con- 
sisting of two, three, or four minutes. During each stretch the 
pupils were instructed to read as rapidly as possible — consistent, 
of course, with an understanding of what was read. The periods 
were made quite brief, in order to evoke the greatest possible speed 
by an intensity of effort which could not be sustained over a longer 
period. The idea was to break up the old order of eye-movement 
habits as quickly as possible, and to build into a habit an ocular- 
motor reaction of a more advantageous type. The short period 
safeguarded against fatigue, as well as against a relapse into the 
customary leisurely reading rate. In short, speed was the dominant 
note in the entire set of directions. 

The amount read was quickly determined and marked. The 
pnpil then reproduced what was read — sometimes by free para- 
phrase, orally or in writing, and sometimes by answers to specific 
questions based on the text. The reproduction was usually brief. 
Its function was merely to show both the teacher and the pupil 
whether the matter was properly grasped. The aim was to devote 
about two thirds of the time to actual rapid reading. Interesting, 
familiar material was preferred. Difficult words were explained 
beforehand. Whenever thought preparation was deemed necessary, 
the teacher was instructed to give it briefly. At the end of the total 
reading period the pupil immediately entered upon the chart his 
average rate of speed as the record for the day. 



2. Plans for improving Comprehension 

In all rapid silent reading for the increase of rate there 
should be some kind of check on comprehension, to make 
sure that the pupils actually read the material, and to avoid 
increasing the rate to the serious detriment of comprehen- 
sion. Likewise, in lessons for the improvement of com- 
prehension, the relation of rate should be kept in mind. 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 169 

In training in comprehension in rapid reading, timed read- 
ing wall often be necessary. The difference in the lesson 
that trains primarily for rate, and the one that trains pri- 
marily for comprehension, is a difference of emphasis. 

Action sentences and directions. Even in the first grade, 
pupils should be taught to comprehend sentences without 
oral reading, and to express the meaning of the sentences 
in other ways than through oral reading or telling. Sen- 
tences that can be acted out, or that contain directions for 
seat work, are the best to use in the first lessons in silent 
reading not followed by oral reading. 

The following are some sets of such sentences that have 
been found easily usable : l 

For Silent Reading in Class, without Oral Reading 
1 2 

Hold up your hands. Run to the east. 

Fold your arms. Run to the west. 

Jump on one foot. Run to the north. 

Find something round. Run to the south. 

Find something square. Clap your hands. 

Point to the clock. Stamp your feet. 

Point to the door. Stand on one foot. 

Point to the blackboard. Snap your fingers. 

Point to the window. Wink your eye. 

Give me some chalk. Shake your head. 

Direction Sentences for Silent Reading in Relation 
to Seat Work 
13 14 

Write seven words beginning Write your name ten times. 

with " c." Write six words ending in " ing." 

Draw six window boxes in two Write five words ending with 

rows. "ask." 

Draw five circles upon five Write five words ending with 
squares. "atch." 

1 Fourteen such sets, printed on cards 5^"x 1\" , may be purchased from 
the Plymouth Press, 6749 Wentworth Ave., Chicago. 



170 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

Draw two triangles upon two Write your father's name five 
squares. times. 

Put four letters into four squares. Write the first half of the alpha- 
Cut six oblongs into halves. bet. 

Put five numbers into five Write the last half of the alpha- 
circles, bet. 

Put eight numbers into eight Draw ten gods in two rows, 
squares. Draw eight circles in four rows. 

Draw eight flags in two rows. Draw nine cats in three rows. 

Draw nine hats in two rows. 

The first two sets are easily used about the middle of the 
first grade and the last two toward the end of the first grade. 

The following are similar sentences, adapted from the 
Teacher's Manual of the Barnes Primer: 

TO BE READ SILENTLY AND ACTED TO BE READ ORALLY 

Spin the top. The top spins. 

Spin the little top. The little top spins. 

Spin the big top. The big top spins. 

Spin the red top. The red top spins. 

The Holton Primer has some very good lessons for silent 
reading. The following are ' representative of the types 
used. 1 



TO BE READ SILENTLY AND ACTED 

All play you are rabbits. Catch the baby rabbits. 

Jump. Run. All listen to the dog. 

Eat grass. Eat apples. Run away, little rabbits; run fast. 

Mary may be the mother bear. Taste of your soup. 

Jack may be the father bear. Baby bear, cry. 

Frank may be the baby bear. Sit in your chairs, bears. 

Nell may be the little girl. Say what the bears said. 

Sit in the chairs, little girl. Run after the little girl. 

Bears, come home. Run home, little girl, run! 

1 Holton, M. Adelaide. The Holton Primer, pp. 29, 50. Rand McNally 
Company. 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 171 

Unfortunately, as a rule, primary teachers have not used 
these types of silent-reading lessons found in primers in the 
way in which the authors intended. Too often they have 
been used as an ordinary oral-reading lesson. Teachers 
need to realize the advantage of omitting almost entirely 
oral reading in connection with these lessons. 

Silent reading and reproduction. The simplest type of 
silent-reading lesson for improving comprehension is the 
reproduction, oral or written, of a story read silently. The 
organization of thought rather than memory should be 
stressed. Comparisons of differing versions help to clarify 
organization of content. The story read may be repro- 
duced orally or by writing. 

The silent reading of the story takes place during the 
recitation under the observation of the teacher, and with a 
time limit. The teacher notices the silent-reading habits 
of the pupils, noting individual cases of pointing with the 
finger, vocalization, and lip-movement. 

1. Telling the story. The pupils either tell the story, 
each pupil being called upon to relate a part or to make cor- 
rections, or in the assignment the pupils are told to read a 
certain story and get it well enough to tell to the class. In 
the case of one of the more familiar stories, it may be well 
to ask the pupils to be on the lookout for variations in 
detail from the version they have heard before. The recita- 
tion consists in the telling of the story, questions, and dis- 
cussion. The relation of good reading habits to compre- 
hension is commented on during the reproduction. 

2. Written reproduction. During study-time the pupils 
read the story, place the books in the desk, and then write 
the story. The recitation consists in the reading of the 
written stories, with comments. While there are individual 
exceptions, the number of words reproduced, counting out 
erroneous expressions, is a fairly good index of compre- 
hension. 



172 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

Three main forms of comprehension reading. In train- 
ing pupils for comprehension of what is read, teachers will 
use three main types of reading matter, and with somewhat 
different ends in view. The aim of the first type will be to 
enable the pupils to answer factual questions, that of the 
second type to answer relational or problem questions, and 
that of the third type to train pupils in comprehending the 
organization of the selection. We will next consider each 
of these types, in the order named, and under the sub- 
heads A, B, and C. 



A. Reading to answer factual questions 
As a general rule factual questions are in disfavor, and 
properly so. Yet an occasional spirited exercise in factual 
comprehension is helpful as a check on ability to get details. 
It is a quick, effective means of stimulating competition in 
grasping the facts of a selection. It trains in one type of 
comprehension, and should not be permitted to displace 
exercises in more rational and critical silent reading. 

In connection with the cumulative story. Here the 
reading is done in recitation, by sections. The teacher 
explains to the pupil that the purpose of the reading is to 
find the answer to questions quickly. The teacher asks the 
question before the section is read. As soon as a pupil has 
read the section and can answer the question, he stands. 
This speeds up the slow reader. The question should call 
for some specific fact. What happens in the next section? 
What is the next animal that comes into the story? The 
cumulative story and the fable are adapted to this plan of 
rapid reading for facts. At the end of the exercise, the story 
as a whole should be reviewed. 

In connection with informational material. The need of 
training in the comprehension of facts is illustrated by the 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 173 

answers which Thorndike reports ■ were given in answer to 
his tests on the understanding of sentences. The following 
is one section of his test: 



Read this and write the answers to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. 
Read it again as often as you need to. 

Tom gave a gray cat to Mary. She gave him a black dog. 

1. What did Tom give the girl? 

2. What did the girl give Tom? 

3. "What was the girl's name? 

4. What color was the dog? 

5. What color was the cat? 

6. Was the dog the same color as the cat? 

7. Did Mary give Tom anything? 

8. Who gave the cat to Mary? 

The following absurd or nonsense answers were among 
the responses of the third and fourth grades: 

1. What did Tom give the girl? 

Tom gave the girl a skate 

a new hat 
*" 5. What was the color of the cat? 

gray and white 

the cat 

said Mary 

What color was the cat? 
7. Did Mary give Tom anything? 

she gave him a chicer bord. 

Tom anything. 

The following is another section of the test: 

B 

Read this and then write the answers to 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Read 
it again as often as you need to. 

Nearly fifteen thousand of the city's workers joined in the 
parade on September seventh, and passed before two hundred 

1 Thorndike, Edward L. "The Understanding of Sentences"; in Ele-^ 
merdary School Journal (October, 1917), vol. 18, pp. 98-114. 



174 



SILENT AND ORAL READING 



thousand cheering spectators. There were workers of both sexes 
in the parade, though the men far outnumbered the women. 
Question 2. Which sex was in the majority? 

The following are some answers reported from the fifth, 
sixth, and seventh grades: 

The fifteen thousand 

Workers 

Workers of sex in the parade 

Workers were in the majority 

In the parade 

Both in the parade 

Sexes in the parade 



Seventh 

Two hundred spectators 

Spectators and working 

Sixes 

Men and women 

Far out women 

Sexes of women 



An experiment in factual comprehension. An interesting 
experiment was carried on by the writer in connection with 
factual comprehension with a sixth-grade group. The 
pupils were asked to read a selection from Chatty Readings 
in Elementary Science, Book 3, entitled, " The Little Spinner 
and Weaver." Then they were given ten factual questions 
to answer without referring to the book. One of the ques- 
tions was, " Where are cobwebs in their proper place? " 
The reading specifically stated that cobwebs were in their 
proper place in the garden. The following are the answers 
given: 
No. pupils Answers No. pupils Answers 



18. 


In the garden 




corner 


7. 


(No attempt made) 1 


in corners 


2. 


Garden 




between loges 


2. 


In the corner 




in a whole in the ground 




gardens trees 




in corners in the house 




houses 




on neighboring leaves 




in trees 




At the end of the web 




in a tree 




in dark places 




feild 








Total, 42 


pupils; 


correct, 18. 



Some of these answers can be explained in terms of over- 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 175 

potency of certain words occurring in the reading, but some 
cannot. There was no mention of tree, for instance. Some 
answered from their knowledge or experience. Several 
answers are clearly incorrect, when measured either from 
knowledge in the reading or out of it. The seven who knew 
that they did not know should probably have some credit 
over those whose answers were absurd or unintelligent. 
The important observation is that less than half of the 
pupils answered this simple factual question correctly. 

Exercises in reading and answering factual questions 
may be conducted by having pupils read and record the 
answers during study-time, and then have the answers 
compared and checked up during recitation. Another plan 
would be to have the pupils read the material silently in 
recitation, and then write the answers without the text in 
hand. We have plenty of evidence that both types are 
needed. The question naturally arises, Will it be interest- 
ing to the pupils or will it be monotonous? This all de- 
pends upon the skill of the teacher in selecting material, 
formulating the questions, and utilizing competition and 
interest in achievement. 



B. Reading to answer relational or problem questions 
Training in relational thinking. For the purely factual 
question, the answer is given specifically in the reading 
matter and practically in the words of the questions. This, 
of course, is the simplest type of question, and the one 
easiest for the child to answer. To be a real problem- 
question some relational thinking must be required, and it 
should not be possible to answer in the exact language of 
reading matter unless the question asks for the selection of a 
group of words from the text in application to a condition 
not given in the text. The following is an example of an 



176 ' SILENT AND ORAL READING 

exercise, used with sixth and seventh grades, for training 
for relational thinking in silent reading: 

The Little Spinner and Weaver 
Chatty Readings in Elementary Science, Book 3, p. 64 
Assignment: First read the whole selection through rapidly. 
Then read the part indicated before the question, and write the 
answer if you can. If necessary to re-read, in order to answer the 
question, do so. After you have written your answer verify it; 
that is, re-read to see if it is correct. In case you think what you 
have written is not correct, do not erase it, but put a large question 
mark at the left-hand margin. The questions should be answered 
in your own words, and not by copying sentences from the book. 
Paragraphs 1 and 2. Give two reasons why a spider is not an insect. 
1. 
% 
Par. 3. Why do spiders spin webs? 

On this rough outline drawing of a spider's body put 
an X where the spinnerets are located. 
Par. 4. Give two reasons why the cord fastens where it drops. 
1. 



<3 



Par. 5. Give two reasons why the web is not easily destroyed by 
the wind. 
1. 

2. 
Par. 6. How are spiders beneficial to the garden? 
Par. 7. Why does a spider lurk under a leaf near the web? 
Paragraphs 1-7. Prove that we must use spinner and weaver 
both in order to describe fully what the spider does. 

Proper statement of relational questions. A good rela- 
tional question will be stated clearly, and will call for a 
definite answer. A poor question is frequently misinter- 
preted. The question should also be on a level with the 
reasoning ability of the pupils of the class. The last ques- 
tion of the above exercise was misinterpreted by a number 
of pupils, was answered correctly by only a very few 
seventh-grade pupils, and by none of the sixth-grade class. 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 177 

This indicates that the question was certainly too difficult 
in form and required too complex a type of relational 
thinking and organizing for the sixth grade. Experience 
with the exercise proved that the other questions were 
worded so clearly and so definitely that there was little 
excuse for misinterpreting them. 

During the recitation following the study period upon the 
exercise, the questions were taken up one at a time and 
answers from a number of pupils read. These responses 
were discussed, and a correct one agreed upon. Then there 
was a show of hands to see who recorded the correct answer 
during the study. As this was a training exercise and not a 
test, there was no attempt to put a score, or grade, upon the 
pupils' work. Pupils having answers showing poor think- 
ing were asked if they carried out the step of verification as 
given in the assignment. Rarely had this been done. The 
importance of checking up their answers was, of course, 
emphasized, and the example of some of the better readers 
who had done this was tactfully made prominent, as a 
means of getting all in the habit of verifying answers in 
careful reading or study. 

Considering meanings of words. The sources of error 
may be summarized as relating to vocabulary, to method 
in study, and to inability to do relational thinking. The 
discussion of several words came up in connection with 
vocabulary errors. One pupil had taken elastic to mean 
everlasting. In connection with the exercise requiring the 
placing of an X on the drawing to locate the spinnerets, a 
number of pupils did not understand abdomen, and a good 
many failed to get the significance of the expression, " end 
of the abdomen," as used in the text. The meanings of 
words were considered in this lesson in relation to the 
thought under discussion, rather than in an isolated re- 
citing of definitions which is so common. 



178 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

Verifying answers by careful re-reading. The failure 
of many pupils to verify their answers has already been 
mentioned. Monroe stresses the importance of attention to 
this step in his chapter on " Correcting Defects in Reading." 1 
He says that exercises of this type will give pupils an idea of 
what careful reading involves, and their attention will be 
directed to the necessity of verifying their answers. Thorn- 
dike says, 2 in this connection: 

There are two contrasting forms of defective procedure used by 
children in these tests. The first is to examine the paragraph until 
some word is found which does not appear unsuitable, and to use 
that as the answer. . . . The second is to accept anything from 
within or without the paragraph which comes to mind without 
reexamining the paragraph at all closely. . . . This fishing around 
in the text for something to use and its use without reorganization 
is perhaps the most debased form of reasoning — selective think- 
ing — which school work shows. Many educational theorists 
will, indeed, deny that it is reasoning. It certainly is a very 
inadequate form; and the extent to which it prevails among pupils 
even in the higher grades shows the need for practice in reading 
and study. I am inclined to think, however, that the cure for it 
is not to repress the verbatim use of wrong, irrelevant, or roughly 
appropriate quotations, but to permit it, plus careful examination 
of the quotations to see if they really do meet the need. 

Improving the ability to think logically in reading and 
study. Some pupils show poor ability in rational thinking 
by failing to distinguish between a vague general reason 
loosely related to the problem, and a specific reason that 
gives a definite fact in relation to the conditions of the 
problem. Note the vague general reason in contrast to a 
good specific reason in answer to one of the questions of the 
exercise described on page 174. 

1 Monroe, Walter S. Measuring the Results of Teaching. Houghton 
Mifflin Company. 

2 Elementary School Journal (October, 1917), vol. 18, pp. 110, 112. 



: 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 179 

Give two reasons why the web is not easily destroyed by the 
wind. 

1. It is elastic. 

2. It is not only one line but a vast number. (Vague.) 

An answer with both points definite: 

1. It is elastic, and can't be easily broken by the wind. 

2. It is built of strong cords. 

A number of pupils failed to realize that two phases of 
one reason were not two reasons. This is illustrated in the 
answers to the first exercise: 

Paragraphs 1 and 2. Give two reasons why a spider is not an 

insect. 
Correct answer : 1. A spider has eight legs and an insect six. 

2. A spider is born a spider, while an insect is 
hatched from an egg and changes its form 
several times in its life. 

Answers given in which one reason is mistaken for two: 

Pupil A: 1. A spider has eight legs. 

2. An insect has six. 
Pupil B: 1. A spider is born a spider. 

2. An insect is hatched from an egg. 

It is important to train pupils to distinguish between a 
vague general reason and the statement of a specific fact in 
terms of the problem, and to distinguish statements that 
give a part of a reason, a complete point, and two or three 
complete points. 

Other difficulties that pupils have in relational compre- 
hension are: 

(a) Failure to keep in mind the problem or point wanted. 

(b) Failure in being able to select significant words or 
phrases. 

(c) Inability to reject quickly and skip irrelevant 
matter. 

A training exercise using the geography. The following 



180 SILENT AND OEAL READING 

exercise was devised and used by Miss Emily White, with a 
sixth-grade class: 

Silent-Reading Lesson in Geography 
Material: Essentials of Geography, Book II, pp. 164-66. 
Assignment: First read the material through rather rapidly. 
Then read to find the answer to the first question. After recording 
the answer, re-read the section to make sure the answer is correct. 
In case you are not sure that the answer is right, put a question 
mark in front of the answer. The answers are to be facts taken 
from the text, and stated in your own words so as to apply to the 
question. Answers based upon your previous knowledge or experi- 
ence, the facts of which are not given in the text, will not be cor- 
rect. Each question can be answered in one sentence, except the 
one requiring a drawing. 

Sec. 227: What is the difference between the way moisture is 

supplied for farming in the Plateau States and the 

way it is supplied in the eastern part of the United 

States? 

Helps: Select one word or phrase that tells how the crops are 

watered in the East. Select one word that tells how the crops are 

watered in the Plateau States. Write a sentence containing the 

two which will answer the question. 

Sec. 228: Why did irrigation begin in Utah? 
Sec. 229: Draw a rough sketch of an irrigation system and label 
with words given in the text. 

At first each farmer provided his own ditch direct 
from the stream. What led to the need of cooperation 
through companies for building irrigation systems? 
List two sources of water for irrigation. 
Sec. 230: Why is "The Reclamation Service" a good name for 
the department of the United States that helps with 
irrigation? 

Why is a dam built? 

In how many States is there land reclaimed through 
irrigation projects? (This question tested the resource- 
fulness of the pupils in consulting a map embodied 
1 in the text, and referred to.) 

How does building a dam for irrigation sometimes 
promote manufacturing? 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 181 

A silent-reading exercise with a history text. In a de- 
partmental organization the teachers of the content sub- 
jects need to cooperate in training for silent reading. The 
reading teacher, the history teacher, 1 the geography teacher, 
the language and grammar teacher, and to some extent the 
arithmetic teacher, should all assume some of the responsi- 
bility for specific training with comprehension exercises. 
The following is an exercise used by an eighth-grade history 
teacher, Miss Ada E. Plass: 

Test in History 

Beard and Bagley — History of the American People, pp. 549-54. 

The Results of the War; American's New Interest in the Orient 
P. 549: 1. "What was the chief objection advanced against holding 
the Philippines? 
2. What great advantage for the United States in possess- 
ing the Islands? 
P. 550: 1. Reading the map on page 550, state: 

a. The direction Japan is from the Philippines. 

b. The direction of the Philippines from lie place of 
the Boxer uprising. 

P. 551: 1. Select a group of words from the text that express the 
feeling that caused the Boxer uprising. 

2. What right did the Filipinos have to expect independ- 
ence? 

P. 55%: 1. What is the meaning of the cartoon on page 55%, with 
reference to the intentions of the nations in sending 
soldiers into China? 
£. Why is this cartoon not correct with reference to the 
United States? 

3. Why were there so many Chinese students in the 
United States after the Boxer uprising? 

P. 55% 1. What was the chief political issue in 1900? 

-553: %. State the main difference between the position of the 

Democrats and of the Republicans as to the Philippines 

in 1900. 

1 The Barr Diagnostic Test in American History, published by the Public 
School Publishing Company, of Bloomington, 111., has some very interest- 
ing and valuable exercises for training in the comprehension of historical 
reading. 



182 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

P. 554: 1. Prove that the Democratic administration in 1913-17 
maintained the same position with reference to the 
Philippines as the Democrats did in 1900. 
2. What right was granted to Porto Rico that was not 
granted to the Philippines? 

In formulating an exercise of this kind, it should be kept 
constantly in mind that the purpose is for training in com- 
prehension in reading, and all the questions should spe- 
cifically involve selecting, reorganizing, or applying data 
in the reading-content, rather than from the pupil's fund 
of general information. While questions calling for criti- 
cisms, experiences, etc., would be appropriate under some 
conditions, they would be out of place in a training exercise 
involving silent reading. The success of an exercise of this 
type will depend upon the skill of the teacher in making the 
questions and in keeping the attention of the pupils, during 
the study and the recitation, directed to the content of the 
reading text. The method of the pupil's study should be 
scrutinized, as revealed in the recitation, and helpful 
suggestions made to aid him to substitute good habits of 
attack for poor ones. 

Substituting silent for oral reading in grammar exercises. 
In exercises in grammar, the usual practice is to have a 
pupil read the exercise orally while the remainder of the 
class reads it silently, and at the same rate. From the 
standpoint of training in silent-reading rate it is much 
better to have all the pupils read the exercise silently, make 
any interpretations or explanations asked for by pupils, and 
then ask the pupils to rise as soon as they are able to carry 
out the directions of the exercise. What is meant may be 
made clearer through the use of an exercise chosen from a 
text on English. 

Oral Exercise in English 
Point out the essential parts of the following sentences, and 
name the modifiers of each part. Tell what kind of modifier each is. 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 183 

[Previous work in the chapter had listed the essential parts as 
follows:] 

1. Principal word of the subject. 

2. The verb. 

S. The predicate word, if there is one. 

4. The object, if there is one. 
The modifiers treated in the chapter are adjectives, adjective 
phrases, adjective clauses, adverbs, adverb phrases, and adverb 
clauses. 

The usual plan of having the directions read orally is a 
waste of time, slows down the silent reading to the articula- 
tion rate, and hinders concentration of attention to the 
thought. Experiments have shown that pupils compre- 
hend better in silent reading than in oral reading. Evi- 
dently " essential parts " and " kinds of modifiers " are the 
expressions that need interpretation. As a beginning it will 
be advisable to have each pupil write down what these 
expressions mean to him. After the meaning is clear, the 
teacher may ask the pupils to stand as they are able to 
recite upon the first sentence. This tends to speed up the 
slow ones. The pupil's recitation does not need to begin 
with an oral reading of the sentence, as is so common. The 
pupils have all read it silently; what can be the purpose of 
reading it aloud? Following the pupil's recitation upon the 
first sentence, comprehension of the directions may be tested 
by asking the pupils to point out any omissions made with 
reference to the different points in the directions. Every 
opportunity of this kind, in any subject, to train in compre- 
hension in silent reading should be utilized. There should 
be no oral reading unless there is a very definite reason 
for it. 

C. Training in comprehension of the organization of 
what is read 

One cause of failure in adequate understanding in read- 
ing is in not comprehending the organization of the text. 



184 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

Many times pupils do not understand the plan of headings 
and subheadings. In the reading instruction there should 
be exercises in outlining, and in selecting the central thought, 
leading ideas, key sentences, appropriate topical headings 
for paragraphs or divisions, and significant or climax para- 
graphs or chapters. Several types of exercises are adapted 
to aiding pupils to give more attention to the organization 
of the content. 

Summing up paragraphs of exposition in study recita- 
tion. Begin the recitation by having all the pupils read the 
unit through rather rapidly to get the general theme. 
Then ask the class to decide upon a suitable topic for each 
paragraph. The class then reads the first paragraph 
silently and works out the topic, and so on through the unit. 
See if the topic does or does not continue over into the next 
paragraph. Discover the sentences that are most signifi- 
cant. There should be some reading lessons of this sort in 
every term's work in the fourth and fifth grades. Some 
bright third-grade classes may be able to make a beginning. 
The teacher will need to use skill in selecting suitable easy 
material for this, and in making a preliminary outline her- 
self. The following is a part of a fourth-grade lesson: 

A Fotjbth-Grade Lesson 
"The Beaver" — Baldwin Fourth Reader. 

1. Description: Content summary: length — weight — color — 
tail? 

2. Characteristics: kind — neighborly — helpful -7 wise. 

It will be noted that the words in (2) give the facts, while 
the words in (1) give only the nature of the facts and not 
the facts themselves. The greater extent to which the 
units can be indicated and the outline be kept concise and 
brief, the better the result. 

The necessity of distinguishing between leading ideas and 



: 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 185 

subordinate ones makes outlining difficult for immature 
students. The lower the grade the more important it is to 
select material that easily outlines, and the simpler should 
be the outline. Until pupils have some facility in compre- 
hending the organization of units, it is best to use selections 
in which each paragraph has a clearly outstanding idea. 
The following outline was worked out in class in the lower 
fifth-grade : 

"Uncle Sam as Flag-Maker" — Natural Method Fourth Reader, 

Paragraph Topic 

1. A fleet of Uncle Sam's warships 

2. The dreadnoughts 

3. A display of flags on the warships 

4. Uncle Sam the big flag-maker 

5. Seeing the flags made 

6. Very many flags needed for decoration and signaling 

7. Some are elaborate — The President's 

8. Changes in the flag since 1777 

9. The trouble and expense when a new state is admitted 

10. Flags vary greatly in size 

11. The best material is used 

12. Two things to think about when we see the flag 

Making a topical outline of a selection. The Teacher's 
Manual for The Boys 9 and Girls' Readers for the Fourth and 
Fifth Grades, by Bolenius, provides definitely for lessons 
that train the pupil to see the organization of a selection. 
The following is taken from the Manual: 

"The Fish I Did n't Catch" — Whittier — Fifth Reader. 

This selection falls into nine logical divisions, each of which has 
a leading thought. It therefore offers good material for training 
your pupils to sum up a paragraph in a few words. A good plan 
of procedure is to have the pupils read through the paragraph or 
section, and when through it close the book and try to sum it up 
in a few words. The teacher should call for these various attempts, 
and have the children select the best to record on the blackboard. 



186 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

After a topic is written on the board, the class should be directed 
to open books and read the next section. 

Paragraph Topic 

1. Description of the surroundings of the homestead 

2. Why the settlers prize these meadows 
S. Whittier's hatred of snakes 

4. The beauties of the meadow 

5. The attractions of the brook 

6. Whittier's chief reason for liking the brook 

7. A fishing excursion 

8. First sorrows and the uncle's advice 

9. Whittier's feeling about this lesson 

An excellent unit for beginning training in making topics 
for paragraphs is the following: 

44 The Milky Way " — The Merrill Fourth Reader. 



Paragraph 


Topic 


1. 
2. 
3. 

4. 
5. 
6. 

7. 


A broad path of misty light 
Composed of thousands of stars 
What the Greeks thought 
What the Norsemen thought 
What the Indians thought 
The description in Hiawatha 
Jacob's Road v 


8. 


In all the stories, the Milky Way is the path from earth 
to heaven 



Grouping paragraphs. Training in grouping paragraphs 
together under headings represents a further advance in the 
study of organization. The following selection, taken from 
the Teacher's Manual for the Sixth Reader, by Bolenius, 
illustrates this work well : 

" The Boyhood of a Naturalist" — John Muir. 

This selection offers splendid training in grouping paragraphs 
together under heads. It will pay to build up on the board an out- 
line by paragraphs, and then reconstruct the outline somewhat as 
follows. Thus the pupils see for themselves how an author thinks 
in large measure. 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 187 



ions 1- 5. 


Entrance into the wilderness 


6-20. 


Different kinds of bird,s 


81. 


The frogs 


22-25. 


Snakes 


26-27. 


Insects 


28-32. 


Fishes 


33. 


The Lake 



34—40. Learning to swim 

An eighth-grade lesson in outlining. The following 
account of an eighth-grade lesson illustrates the facility 
with w T hich an upper-grade class grasps the leading ideas in 
a selection. The following outline was formulated as a 
guide for the teacher: 

Castlewood, England — 1691. From Henry Esmond, Baldwin 
Eighth Reader, pp. 145-48. 
I. The meeting of the Viscountess and Henry Esmond (Par. 
1-4.) 

1. The lad of twelve. Sad. Studious. (Par. 1.) 

2. A kind greeting. (Par. 2.) 

3. The charming Viscountess. (Par. 3.) 

4. Henry impressed by her tenderness and kindness. 
(Par. 4.) 

II. The meeting of Henry with the Viscount and Beatrix. (Par. 
5-9.) 

1. The Viscount laughs at Henry's adoration for the Vis- 
countess. (Par. 5.) 

2. The Viscount welcomes Henry. (Par. 6.) 

3. The Viscount laughs when told that Henry had been 
saying his prayers. (Par. 7.) 

4. Beatrix greets Henry kindly and Henry is grateful. 
(Par. 8.) 

HI. Description of Castlewood Surroundings. (Par. 9-10.) 

1. The sunset scene. (Par. 9.) 

2. The Viscount's appreciation. (Par. 10.) 
IV. The Next Day. (Par. 11-13.) 

1. Henry's anxiety about the continuation of the welcome. 
(Par. 11.) 

2. The kindly greeting of Henry by the Viscount and 
Beatrix. (Par. 12.) 

3. The pleasant conversation. (Par. 13.) 



188 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

The following was the assignment' given by the teacher 
preliminary to the study by the pupils: 

1. Read through the selection rather rapidly. 

2. Re-read, considering the dominating characteristics of the 
pictures, and list words that express these. 

3. Divide the whole into four main divisions, and formulate a 
heading, choosing words that effectively express the main 
idea of the paragraph. 

In recitation the words listed were first considered, and 
then, the pupils having their outlines in hand and with 
the teacher leading and directing, agreed upon the four 
main divisions and the headings, which were placed upon 
the blackboard. Then the pupils were asked to fill in a 
topic for each paragraph in each division, again choosing 
words that adequately expressed the essential idea of the 
paragraph. After this was completed, the outline on the 
blackboard was completed. The class outline, as given 
below, shows the final wording of the outline. The outline 
is the product of the cooperative efforts of the class. The 
teacher stimulated thinking by criticisms and questions, 
but the outline in its organization and wording represents 
the combined contributions of the pupils. 

I. The meeting of the Viscountess and Henry. (Par. 1-4.) 

1. Characterization of Henry Esmond. (Par. 1.) 

2. The kind greetings of the Lady of Castlewood. (Par. 2.) 

3. Description of the charming Viscountess. (Par. 3.) 

4. Henry's expression of admiration for the Viscountess. 
(Par. 4.) 

II. The meeting of Henry with the Viscount and Beatrix. 
(Par. 5-8.) 

1. The amusement of the Viscount at the adorer of the 
. Viscountess. (Par. 5.) s 

2. The Viscount's welcome of Henry. (Par. 6.) 

3. Beatrix's expression of surprise at Henry's position. 
(Par. 7.) 

4. Henry's gratitude. (Par. 8.) 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 189 

III. The beautiful scene as viewed from the garden. (Par. 9-10.) 

1. The sunset scene beyond Castlewood. (Par. 9.) 

2. The Viscount's expression of pleasure at the beauty of 
Castlewood. (Par. 10.) 

IV. The next day. (Par. 11-13.) 

1. Henry's fear that the welcome may not last. (Par. 11.) 

2. The same kind greetings. (Par. 12.) 

3. Henry's promise to teach the Viscountess French. 
(Par. 13.) 

Making running notes. Training pupils in the making 
of running notes on what is read is another form of training 
in the comprehension of literary organization. 

The following illustrative exercise is taken from the 
Teacher s Manual of the Boys' and Girls' Sixth Reader, 
by Bolenius : 

"How the Trolley Car Runs" — Eva March Tappan 

Running notes of a selection to serve as clues of content. This 
selection is packed full of thought. The following running notes 
will help to show what is played up in the article. 

1[ 1. Why the marble rolls and stops — two things that happen 
% 2. How to move cars — what electricity travels through — insula- 
tion — example, lightning rods — a circuit — free — closed 
Tf 3. The generator — power house — how it drives the cars — closed — 

broken circuit 
^| 4. Care in laying rails to prevent jumping of electricity 
Tf 5. The motorman's work — speed — brakes — skidding wheels — 

sand 
H 6. How the car is heated — why it does not catch on fire 
^ 7. What the trolley is — how made and used 

1[ 8. How wires may be placed — underground — overhead — conduits 
m[ 9-11. Electric locomotives — third rail — loose wires — advantages of 
steam over electricity — storage battery not yet perfected — trial 
of running cars without rails — why the overhead trolley is preferred 
Iffl 12-13. What the trolley does for the country — example, peach farm 
— speed in reaching markets — less expense — how it helps the 
steam road 
H 14. How the trolley helps the workman — in congested districts — 
Great Britain, Belgium, and Cleveland 
Ancient idea of the city and the trolley 



190 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

Topical outline versus running notes. In connection with this 
selection there is excellent opportunity to show the pupils the 
difference between a topical outline arranged with main points 
and sub-points, and mere running notes like those given on this 
page. 

Making and matching paragraph headings; group work. 
In this work the class is divided into two or more teams. 
Each team is given a short selection containing good para- 
graph organization. Each member of the team reads the 
selection, and makes as many paragraph headings as possi- 
ble in a given time. In team conference the best heading 
for each paragraph is selected. These selected headings 
are arranged promiscuously, and given with the books to 
another team. Each member of the receiving team matches 
the headings as best he can in a limited time. The members 
of the team agree in conference upon the best matchings. 
The team that made the headings checks the matchings 
of the other team. A comparison is made of the percentage 
of correct matchings made by each team. 

Training in reading headings in texts and newspapers. 
Consult almost any text in history or geography and you 
will find a definite scheme of printing to show headings for 
the chapter, for a few large parts of the chapter, for sections 
of these parts, and for paragraphs under these. In begin- 
ning the use of a new text, the teacher should use the time of 
a period or two to familiarize the pupils with the scheme of 
headings used. Show the pupils the scheme in the first 
chapter. Then see if they can copy it in the form of an 
outline. Pupils should be led to give more attention to 
these headings in their study. This can be done by the 
teacher giving more reference to them in her questions and 
other details of her teaching. Pupils may be asked to 
compare the organization in one text with that in another, 
or to make substitute headings for those in a text. 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 191 

Pupils should also be taught the organization of material 
in newspapers. Their attention should be called to the 
division into sections, such as news, sports, editorials, etc. 
The purpose of the use of different sizes of type should be 
taught. In a newspaper story the title is printed in a heavy 
black headline; below the headline is given a brief summary 
of the story. This is called the lead. It is printed in letters 
smaller than the headline, but usually larger than the rest 
of the story. Frequently sub-titles are scattered throughout 
an article to serve as guide-posts, or to bring out exciting 
things in the story. 

The following are good exercises of this type to set for 
pupils : 

(a) Bring to the class a newspaper, and be ready to point out 
headlines and leads. 

(b) Read a short newspaper article to the class, and ask them to 
make up headlines and leads. 

Analyzing short and long narrative units. While short 
units of exposition have the most easily conceived para- 
graph organization, the narrative has the advantage of a 
sequence of incidents arranged just as they happened. 
While the teacher should keep in mind the danger of too 
much attention to structure in developing appreciation, 
some attention to organization will help to develop a sense 
for the best. In the upper grades, the pupils may be taught 
to divide the story according to the following outline: 

I. Introduction 

II. Development of the plot 

m. The Climax 

IV. The Outcome 

The pupils may be asked to select the climax chapter of 
books read both as class reading and as individual reading. 
Pupils may be asked to select and read to the class begin- 



102 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

nings of stories that especially arouse an interest in reading 
the story. 

A very good outline of Rip Van Winkle is given in the 
chapter on " Synopses," in Reading in the Public School, by 
Briggs and Coffman. Bolenius, in her Teacher's Manual 
for the Fifth Reader, gives the following outline of a story: 

"How the differs Won" — Samuel Merwin 
Vital parts of the story 

Sections 1- 2. Rivalry between the Town and Cliff Schools 
Sections 3- 8. Ole Anderson and the challenge 

3- 4. His proposition to the Cliff boys 
5- 6. The rules for the game 
7- 8. The challenge and acceptance 
Sections 0-14. The first run 

9. The differs in training 
10-11. Getting the lay of the land 
12-14. Winning the first race 
Sections 15-29. The second run 

15-16. Preparations of both sides 

17. The start 
18-21. Laying false scents 

22. Resting at the monastery 
23-24. Laying another false scent 
24-25. Ole and Joe over the cliff 
26-27. The run home 

28. The Cliff School declared winners 

29. Return of the hounds one hour and 

six minutes later 
Section 30. The Towners' challenge for next year 

The teacher may help to develop a sense on the part of 
the pupils for the vital parts of a story by making an out- 
line like the one above and asking the pupils to divide the 
story into sections to fit the outline, or she may give the 
pupils the sections and ask them to work out the headings. 
Pupils may be asked to find and report important turning- 
points in long narrative units. In the case of units suited 
for dramatization, they may be asked to reorganize the 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 193 

story in dramatic outline, giving the acts and scenes, the 
synopsis of each, and the list of characters in order of 
importance. 

Training in quickly grasping the central thought or the 
essential total meaning of a unit. In various phases of the 
reading work, pupils are, of course, getting experience in 
this element of comprehension. But special exercises under 
a time limit are needed. A good exercise of this kind is to 
assign the pupils a number of paragraphs, each undoubtedly 
containing a topical sentence, and ask each pupil to indi- 
cate as many topical sentences as possible in a given time. 
A plan similar to that suggested under " Making and 
matching paragraph headings " could be used. 

Other means by which the pupil may quickly indicate the 
essential total meaning of the unit may be employed. 
Monroe has used the following in his reading tests : 

r 1. The western part of the United States was not settled till 
much later than the eastern. The discovery of gold quickly 
drew many settlers to California; and, as the search for the 
precious metal was carried farther, the entire West soon 
became explored and settled. 

Draw a line under the one word in the paragraph above 
that tells what it was that caused the western part of the 
United States to be settled. 

2. In order to live in Holland the people have built dikes, to 
keep the sea out, and have dug canals to drain the land. 
The water that collects inside the dikes is pumped out by 
windmills. 

Draw a line under the word below that which most nearly 
describes the land in Holland. 

mountainous low desert high 

3. Aladdin's uncie said: "I will take a shop and furnish it for 
you." Aladdin was delighted with the idea, for he thought 



194 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

there was very little work in keeping a shop. He liked that 
better than anything else. 

Draw a line under the word below that tells us what kind 
of a boy Aladdin was. 

industrious ambitious active lazy honest 

4. The soldier crawled out of the trench, where he had spent 
the night. He was covered with mud from head to foot, and 
almost frozen. He looked around at his companions. What 
a miserable lot they were! This, then, was the glorious war 

| told about in the papers. 

Draw a line under the word below that tells how the soldier 
felt. 

happy patriotic brave angry downhearted 

5. Not far from Greensburg is a little valley, among the high 
hills. A small brook glides through it, with just murmur 
enough to lull one to repose; and the occasional whistle of a 
quail, or tapping of a woodpecker, is almost the only sound 

j that ever breaks in upon the uniform tranquillity. 

What kind of a picture do you get from reading the above 
paragraph? 

disorder activity noise calmness confusion 

6. A silly young cricket, accustomed to sing 

Through the warm sunny months of gay summer and spring, 
Began to complain, when he found that at home 
His cupboard was empty, and winter had come. 

Draw a line under the word which best describes the cricket. 

wise faithful foolish proud prudent 

7. \ The boy stood on the burning deck, 

Whence all but him had fled; 
The flame that lit the battle's wreck, 

Shone round him o'er the dead; 
Yet beautiful and bright he stood, 

As born to rule the storm. 

Draw a line under the word that best describes the boy. 
cowardly mischievous - brave _young good 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 195 

8. Nowhere in the world do the children have so many good 
times as in Japan. They are allowed to play anywhere, and 
there are all sorts of toys and games for their amusement. 

Are the children of Japan happy? Answer with "Yes" or 
"No." 

3. Plans for Vocabulary Training 

How we enlarge our vocabulary. It cannot be too often 
or too thoroughly emphasized that there should be very 
little centering of attention upon words in the reading for 
isolated definition. It has been repeatedly pointed out 
that there is altogether too much of this in the usual school 
practice. Still the problem remains that pupils are not able 
to pronounce words, and do not have an adequate concep- 
tion of the meaning of words. This problem must be solved 
upon the basis of how we acquire correct pronunciation and 
adequate meanings of words. How does our vocabulary 
grow? We all know that our vocabulary develops through 
experience, and not through the use of the dictionary or 
the formal recitation of definitions. Every new activity 
we enter upon enlarges our vocabulary. When one learns 
to play golf or to drive an automobile, a whole new set of 
words is required. We learn to pronounce them and to 
understand their meaning through conversation and read- 
ing. One of the fundamentals of reading-vocabulary 
growth is an extensive vicarious experience through reading. 
We fully comprehend a word only when we have experienced 
it in varied contextual relations. 

The importance of oral reading in vocabulary develop- 
ment is often stressed. In the absence of scientific studies 
in this particular we must fall back upon opinion. All will 
agree that oral reading is a large factor, in the first few 
grades, in the growth of the pupils' sight-reading vocabulary. 
But, when a pupil can read his known auditory vocabulary, 



196 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

there is serious question whether oral reading continues to 
be an important factor in increasing his sight-reading 
vocabulary, his speaking vocabulary, or his written vocabu- 
lary. Language work, discussion and interpretation, and 
conversation are better motivated situations for checking 
pronunciation than oral reading, except real audience read- 
ing. In the main, persons come to use words through 
hearing them in conversation and discussion, and then 
feeling a need for them in expressing thoughts and experi- 
ences. 

This treatment, though, is concerned chiefly with the 
growth of the pupil's reading vocabulary, and as silent 
reading is much more important to this end than oral read- 
ing, it is more concerned with the growth of an adequate 
meaning vocabulary. The following is a summary of the 
principal activities previously discussed which aid in the 
growth of the sight vocabulary. 

Activities Aiding the Growth of the Sight Vocabulary 

1. Oral reading in the lower grades 

2. Audience reading 

3. An extensive vicarious experience through reading 

4. Interpretative discussion, naturally involving the oral use 
of many words in the text 

5. Special interpretative problems requiring the selecting, 
comparing, and contrasting of words in the text 

6. Systematic lessons in the analysis of word meanings and in 
the use of appropriate helps, given in. periods separate from 
the regular reading lessons 

The last two of the above-mentioned activities will be 
discussed more in detail. 

Vocabulary-problem lessons. In the assignment of a 
reading lesson, wherever it can be readily done, the teacher 
should include a problem or exercise requiring the pupil to 
list a definite number of words, not for isolated defining, 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 197 

but as an aid in interpretation. From among the suggestive 
problems and exercises on pages 143-147, select those that 
require the listing of words. 

Some selections lend themselves to the use of a vocabulary 
problem as the main one in the assignment. The following 
is a brief account of two lessons of this type. 



I. A Vocabulary Lesson on "The Bells," by Pob — 
Seventh Grade 

After the teacher had read the poem as a whole to the 
pupils, to give them an auditory perspective impression, 
the more analytical study by parts was undertaken. The 
teacher announced that the poem would be attacked by 
determining the four kinds of bells described, and listing 
under each the words that were used to express the particu- 
lar effect desired. The following lists were placed upon the 
blackboard during the recitation: 



Sledge 


Wedding 


Alarm 


Tolling 


Bells 


Bells 


Bells 


Bells 


merriment 


mellow 


shriek 


groaning 


silver 


molten 


scream 


Runic 


tinkle 


golden 


clash 


melancholy 


jingling 


liquid ditty 


clang 


throbbing 


crystalline 


voluminary 


roar 


muffled mono- 


tintinnabulation 


rhyming 


turbulent 


tone 




chiming 


desperate 


sobbing 




euphony 


twanging 


moaning 






palpitating 


rolling 






clamorous, etc. 


tolling 



The pupils selected and discussed these words in relation to 
a specific interpretative purpose. It is under reading situa- 
tions of this type that discussing and defining words have 
value. For the assignment for the succeeding study and 
recitation the teacher checked ten of the more unfamiliar 
words, and wrote the following on the blackboard: 



198 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

1. Find as many synonyms as possible for each word. 

2. Check the one whose meaning is nearest to the word. 

3. Prove that the word that Poe has used is more appropriate 
than any of the synonyms would have been. 

During the next recitation the following was placed upon 
the board as the consensus of the opinion of the class: 



crystalline 


clamorous 


voluminously 


molten u euphony 


pure 


*noisy 


*swelling 


*melted pleasing sound 


*clear 


loud 


large 


fused sweet sound 


transparent 




copious 


cast *harmonious 


palpitating 


melancholy 


monody 


solemn monotone 


fluttering 


despondent 


funeral song 


grave *one tone 


*throbbing 


sad 


*lamentations 


*serious continuous 


quivering 


*mournful 




sacred utterance 


pulsating 


dejected 




impressive not varied 




sorrowful 




ceremonious 



Another vocabulary lesson will illustrate further what 
may be done. 

II. A Sixth-Grade Vocabtjlaby-Pboblem Lesson 
"The Chimsera" — Hawthorne's Wonder-Booh 

Problem: Select and list expressions that mean the same as Pega- 
sus, and prove that each is appropriate. 

Solution: winged horse; snow-white steed; wondrous spectacle; 
horse fowl; marvelous horse; aerial wonder; splendid 
bird; beautiful friend; sky-skimmer. 

The selection and discussion of these was a valuable 
means of testing the pupils' silent reading, an interesting 
way to clear up hazy ideas of meaning, and proved a valu- 
able means of interpreting. This is a good illustration of 
attacking the content in a psychological though miscel- 
laneous order instead of in the order presented in the story. 
The lesson ended by relating the story. 

Systematic word study. Systematic word study presents 
a common vocabulary problem for reading, spelling, and 
language. There is opportunity here for correlation. No 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 199 

doubt some of the reading-program time should be devoted 
to definite word study growing out of experience with 
words causing difficulty in the reading texts. The most 
suggestive material along this line as yet published is the 
following extract from Judd's monograph on Reading: 
Its Nature and Development, in the chapter on " Some 
Experiments in Training Pupils ": 

Before the work had progressed very far it became apparent 
that definite word study was necessary in order to build up a 
background of meaning. Words were studied in the context for 
meaning, and certain ones were chosen for detailed analysis of 
prefix, suffix, and stem. A stem word analyzed in this manner 
became the nucleus for grouping together other closely related 
words more or less familiar to the student. The word traction 
encountered in an article on the "Lincoln Highway" brought out a 
discussion of traction engines, their use in plowing, road-building, 
and trench warfare, why so called, etc. This centered attention 
upon the stem tract. As its meaning became clear the following 
list was elaborated: 



subtract 


distract 


attraction 


contract 


extract 


distraction 


detract 


retract 


subtraction 


attract 


contraction 


extraction 



A study of the prefixes in these words gave a point of leverage for 
attacking the meaning of words containing them. In this type 
of prefix study only those words were listed whose stems were 
familiar to the pupil, as, for example: 



recall 


rebound 


retake 


reclaim 


retain 


reinforce 


rearrange 


reform 


return 


regain 


remake 


ref rame, etc 



In a similar manner an acquaintance was made with the most 
common suffixes. 

The meaning of some words was approached by the study of 
synonyms and equivalent idiomatic phrases. These were, as far 
as possible, studied in the context and discussed at length to bring 
out shades of difference in meaning. An indomitable hero met in 



200 SILENT AND ORAL READING , 

the pioneer tales brought forth the following synonyms and 
idiomatic phrases: 

indomitable fearless stout-hearted 

brave heroic intrepid 

courageous bold audacious 

resolute daring defiant 

manly plucky undismayed 

to look danger in the face 

to screw one's courage to the sticking-point 

to take the bull by the horns 

to beard the lion in his den 

to put on a bold front 

Vocabulary exercises in the Lewis and Roland Silent 
Readers, The Silent Readers, by Lewis and Roland, for 
the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grades, have 
each a number of pages devoted to vocabulary exercises 
independent of any of the reading lessons. The following 
typical samples are taken from the Sixth Reader: l 

Turning out the Intruder 

Arrange your paper with your name on the first line at the right, 
and your grade below it on the second line. Skip the third line, 
but on the next six lines, in the margin, write the figures, 1 to 8. 

Here is an exercise that will let you see not only how well you can 
follow printed directions, but also how well you can arrange words 
in classes or groups. Read the first group of words at the bottom 
of the page. What kind of list does it seem to be ? A list of several 
kinds of fruit, does it not? Or at least it would be a good list of 
fruit, if we could omit the word rope, which does not seem to 
belong to the list at all. After figure 1, on your paper, write the 
word rope. 

In each of the other groups there is also a word that should be 
dropped out. You are going to write these words on your paper. 
Start with the next group, and when you find the word that 
should be omitted, write it after figure 2; and in the same way, 
finish the remaining groups in the exercise. When you finish wait 
quietly for the others to do so. 

1 Reproduced with the permission of the publishers, The John C. Win- 
ston Company. The size of the printing has been reduced. 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 201 



1. 


2. 


S. 


4. 


apple 


lion 


mountain 


lumbering 


peach 


tiger 


gulfs 


farming 


rope 


elephant 


hills 


grazing 


grape 


tusks 


plain 


manufacturing 


pear 


horse 


valley 


jumping 


orange 


cow 


island 


fishing 


5. 


6. 


7. 


8. 


automobile 


flowers 


cup 


chair 


store 


grass 


saucer 


table 


bank 


fence 


plate 


room 


station 


tree 


pan 


sofa 


hotel 


bush 


pitcher 


bench 


church 


weeds 


bowl 


bookcase 



Putting Words where They Belong 

Arrange your paper with your name on the first line and your 
grade on the second line. Divide the rest of your paper into 
four parts with lines drawn as shown below: 



TRAVELING 



BANKING 



GRAZING 



SEASHORE 



Below is a list of words that is not very well arranged. Some 
words suggest a long railroad journey, some an errand to the 
bank, some the lonely occupation of a cowboy, and others a vaca- 
tion at the shore. Write the words, traveling, banking, graz- 
ing, seashore at the top of your paper on the fourth line as 
shown above. Now rearrange the words below into four columns 
under these four heads, putting all the words that seem to sug- 
gest traveling in the first column, and all the words that suggest 
banking in the second column, and every word that suggests 
grazing or seashore in its proper column. When you finish 
wait quietly for the others. 



discount 
train 



station 
interest 



flock 
bridge 



cattle 
deposit 



202 



SILENT AND ORAL READING 



sheep 


check 


vault 


account 


cashier 


salt-lick 


grass 


ranch 


sand 


waves 


life-guard 


balance 


suitcase 


taxi 


signal 


curve 


ocean 


swim 


fence 


herd 


spring 


adding machine 


pass-book 


tree 


beach 


fish 


conductor 


ticket 


boardwalk 


engineer 


lighthouse 


steamer 



Can You Understand Relationship? 

This drill will test your ability to recognize easily relationships 
between words. Beginning on the first line, write the figures 1 
to 10. 

In each group of words below, the first two words have a certain 
connection in meaning. When you discover this relationship 
between the first two words, you can find among the five words 
that follow, two other words that bear the same relationship. 
For example, in group one, the tire is made of rubber. Now if 
you look among the words that follow, you will easily see that the 
words house and bricks are related in the same way. (The 
house is made of bricks. Write these four words after figure 1 
on your paper: 

1. tire rubber house bricks 

Look at group two. We can easily see that just as the tailor 
makes clothes so the baker makes bread. So you will write 
these four words after figure 2 on your paper: 

2. tailor clothes baker bread 

Complete the exercise by selecting the two words in each 
remaining group that are related in meaning in the same way 
that the given words are related in meaning. When you have 
finished, wait quietly for the others. 

1. tire, rubber (wagon, circle, house, brush, bricks). 

2. tailor, clothes (baker,, store, city, ship, bread). 
S. fire, heat (knife, candle, burn, light, wood). 

4. sailor, sea (book, sing, soldier, fight, land). 

5. gun, bullet (bow, horse, shoot, arrow, fly). 

6. young, quick (old, fast, grow, father, slow). 

7. apple, tree (oranges, south, grape, vine, sweet). 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 203 

8. ceiling, floor (sky, attic, stair, earth, high). 

9. window, glass (silk, knife, book, steel, pencil). 
10. squirrel, chatters (bird, tree, sings, fly, nuts). 



Finding Opposites 

This drill will not only test your ability to follow printed direc- 
tions, but also your ability to exercise a careful choice of words. 
Follow the directions very closely. 

1. Arrange your paper with your name on the first and your 
grade on the second line. Beginning with the fourth line, in the 
margin, write the figures 1 to 10. 

2. Below are ten sets of words. In each case, the first word is 
followed by four other words, one of which is exactly opposite in 
meaning to the first word. You are going to find these opposites. 
Look at group one. high is the first word. Of the four words 
that follow it, which do you think is the exact opposite of high? 
Of course it is low. Write this pair of opposites after figure 1 on 
your paper as follows: ^->^ 

1. high low 

3. After figure 2, write the second pair of opposites: 

2. great small 

Complete the exercise by selecting the opposites from each remain- 
ing group, and writing them after the proper figure on your paper. 
When you have finished put down your pencil and wait quietly 
for the others. 

1. high (sky, low, above, deep). 

2. great (less, large, small, beautiful). 

3. hill (mountain, valley, high, river). 

4. many (few, more, plenty, less). 

5. gradual (quick, slowly, sudden, degree). 

6. wound (sword, nurse, heal, bind). 

7. light (bright, sun, shadow, darkness). 

8. straight (long, uneven, twist, crooked). 

9. land (plain, water, farm, river). 
10. spring (fall, cool, October, green). 



204 



SILENT AND ORAL READING 



4. The Latest Types of Silent-Reading Exercises 
A. Motivated drill work in third-grade silent reading 

A very valuable type of drill exercise in speed and com- 
prehension, in the form of a game, has been reported by 
J. H. Hoover. 1 He used sets of cards two inches by four 
inches containing a sentence or a paragraph. He devised 
four sets of these cards, each set consisting of from 100 to 
250 cards. The sets were lettered A, B, C, and D. The 
cards in each set were numbered in order of difficulty from 
the easiest card to the most difficult one. The following 
shows sample cards reduced in dimensions about half: 



A 




125 


School 


closes at four 


o'clock in 


the 


afternoon. 


Show how 


the 


face of a 


clock looks at that time. 



B 67 

A donkey was loaded 
with salt. He laid down in 
the water. What happened 
to the salt ? 



The content of the first and last card of each set will now 
be given in order that the reader may have some idea of the 
types of reading material used. The type of response re- 
quired is also indicated. 



Set A — Action Cards 

I. Face the rising sun. 

150. The children played tag on the lawn. They soon felt 
tired and went to sleep. There were eleven children in the group. 
Make the figure "eleven" on your paper. 

1 Hoover, J. H., " Motivated Drill Work in Third-Grade Silent Reading," 
in the Twentieth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, 
part n. Public School Publishing Company, Bloomington, 111. > 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 205 

Set B — Language Response Cards 
1. Name some good winter games. 

150. Last year I bought some roses for twenty cents a dozen. 
How many things does it take to make a dozen? 

Set C — Pretense Cards 

1. Show how mother rocks the baby. 

250. Mr. Wilson is digging potatoes to-day. He plows them out 
with a big team of mules and a plow. He puts them in a sack and 
carries them to the cellar. Act as if you were picking up potatoes. 

Set D — One Word Response Cards 
(Yes, no, right, or wrong) 
1. Apples and peaches grow on the ground. 
100. We went to church last Sunday. Uncle John and Aunt 
Lena came home with us. They took us out riding in the after- 
noon. Do you enjoy riding in a car? 

The drill game is carried out in such a way as to give 
equal emphasis to speed and comprehension. The plan of 
the game will be made clear by giving the following excerpt 
from the report, just previously referred to: 

Playing Rules (Set A) 

The children are arranged in pairs according to some convenient 
plan. Each child is given a sufficient number of cards to occupy 
his time for the entire reading period. If the time allotted to a 
reading period is fifteen minutes, ten cards given to each child will 
probably be enough. 

For convenience, let us say that Ruth and James are playing 
together. Each is given (say) ten cards from Set A. Each has a 
pencil and paper on which to keep the score of his or her opponent. 
James picks up one of his cards, reads it silently, hands it to Ruth 
who reads it carefully, then proceeds to perform the required 
activity. By his performance, Ruth judges whether or not James 
has gotten the thought of the passage which he has just read. She 
now gives him a score of "1" if he has performed his task cor- 
rectly, and "0" if he has failed. 

The teacher will do well to be in the midst of the children while 



206 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

the game is in process, to watch the performances of the children 
being judged and the scoring of the ones doing the judging. Fair- 
ness, accuracy, and speed are things to be encouraged. 

Ruth now reads one of her cards and James becomes judge. 
Thus the game proceeds until the twenty cards are exhausted or 
until the reading period has been consumed. The one having 
the greatest number of perfect scores (ones) at the end of the play 
period wins the game. 

The rules for playing with cards from Sets B, C, and D are the 
same as the above directions which are based upon Set A, the 
only difference being in the nature of the responses given, and 
these varied responses do not affect the rules for playing. 

Mr. Hoover carried out a carefully planned and extensive 
experiment to determine the effect of this type of drill upon 
speed. The pupils in thirty third-grade rooms were divided 
into two groups of equal size and mental attainments. 
One group of classes was given the drill ten minutes a day 
three times a week for three months, while the other group 
of classes was not. Both groups of classes were given the 
same amount of program-reading time and the same 
assignments, except the drill exercises, in reading. 

The Monroe Standardized Reading Tests were given 
before the experiment began and at the end of the three 
months. The drill classes made very much more improve- 
ment in both rate and comprehension than the non-drill 
classes made. The results are summarized by Mr. Hoover 
as follows: 

It follows from this study of over eleven hundred third-grade 
pupils in thirty classrooms of Kansas City, Kansas, that in every 
phase of reading considered in this study the improvement made 
by the classes that were drilled in reading by the games devised 
by the writer was more pronounced than the improvement made 
during a corresponding period by the classes that devoted the same 
amount of time to other forms of reading exercises. 

i 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 207 

B, Exercises developed at Detroit for making reading 
function 1 
The following selected silent-reading exercises, excellent 
in training for self-directed, careful reading, can be used for 
seat work by one class while another is reciting, or they 
might profitably be assigned to the better readers of a class 
while the teacher works with the too-slow group. They 
were devised and used in the Detroit schools. 

I. Directions for Illustrating Nursery Rhymes 
"There was an old woman who lived in a shoe, 

She had so many children she did n't know what to do" 
Cut out a large shoe. 
Put a little window in the shoe. 
Color the shoe black. 
Cut out six children. 

Make two of the children peeking over the top of the shoe. 
Make three children peeking out of the window. 
Make one peeking over the toe. 

II. Directions for Illustrating Stories 
Read over the story — 

"The Three Little Pigs" 
Draw the pigs' house. 
Draw the mother pig at the door. 
Make the three little pigs going away. 

Draw the first little pig when he met the man with sqme straw. 

Draw the house of straw. 

Make the pig looking out of the window. 

Draw the wolf at the door. 

Draw the second little pig when he met the man with the wood. 

Draw the house of wood. 

Make the pig looking out of the window. 

Draw the wolf at the door. 

1 Courtis, S. A., and Heller, Regina R. " Exercises Developed at Detroit 
for Making Reading Function," in the Twentieth Yearbook of the National 
Society for the Study of Education, part n. Public School Publishing 
Company, Bloomington, 111. 



208 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

III. Directions foe Constructing Toys 

"How to Make A-B-C Blocks " 
Fold your paper into sixteen squares. 
Cut off one row of squares. 
Make three cuts on each side like this. 
In square one, print a capital A. 
In square three, print a small a. 
In square two draw a picture of an apple. 
In square four draw a picture of an acorn. 
Fold like a box and paste. 

IV. Directions for Illustrating Social Studies 
"Objects for an Indian Sand Table: an Indian Wigwam' 9 

Get three sticks about six inches long. Tie them together at the 
top with string. Spread them out at the bottom so they will 
stand. This will make the framework of the wigwam. 

Take a piece of brown paper nine by twelve inches. Cut a 
half circle from it. Make it as large as you can. This is the skin 
covering for your wigwam. Draw some Indian pictures on the 
skin. Fasten the skin covering around the frame work. Fold 
back the flaps for a door. 

V. Type Demanding the Reading of a Short Description 

to Carry out the Directions 
"The Goldfinch" 
In the summer, father goldfinch wears a bright lemon-yellow 
suit. He has a black cap, black wings, and a black tail. His little 
wife's dress is a dull green or olive yellow. 

Mr. and Mrs. Goldfinch build a tiny little nest shaped like a cup. 
It is made of fine grass and moss. They are very fond of thistles 
and dandelions for they can line their nests with the fluff from these 
little weeds. Then they can eat the seeds for their dinner. 

VI. A Sample Scale of Reading Ability used in the First 

Four Grades 
Draw a bird house. 
Make it blue. 

Put it in the top of a little tree. 
Make a bluebird flying over the bird house. 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 209 

Make another bluebird standing on top of the bird house. 

Put a little red worm in his mouth. 

The bird house is in a garden, so draw a round flower bed near 

the bird house. 
Draw some yellow tulips in the middle of the bed and some red 

tulips around the outside. 
Draw some low bushes with red blossoms on them in the garden, 

too. 
Now think of a name for your picture and print it with black 

crayon at the top of your paper. 
Draw a little square in the lower left-hand corner of your paper. 
In the upper half of this square print the initial of your first 

name in green. 
In the lower half of the square print the initial of your last name 

in brown. r 



C. Silent-reading exercises developed at Cedar Rapids and 
Iowa City 

The following exercises have been selected from those 
given in the Twentieth Yearbook of the National Society 
for the Study of Education, Part II, as being different from 
any of the preceding types: 

"Our Visit to the Fire Station" 

(Reported by Miss Byrd Snyder, Grade I, Taylor School, 

Cedar Rapids, Iowa) 

After a story and talk about fires and how they can be pre- 
vented, the following questions were given as a silent-reading 
lesson: 

1. What day is to-morrow? 

2. Why do we have Fire Prevention Day? 

3. Who helps us when we have a fire? 

4. Who pays the firemen? 

5. How do the firemen know when we need them? 

6. Why do we have a fire drill at school? 

7. How can boys and girls help prevent fire? 

8. Tell some rules we should obey. 

9. Would you like to visit a fire station to-morrow? 



210 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

The following lesson was developed with the children as a sum- 
mary of their trip. 

Our Visit to the Fire Station 
On "Fire Prevention Day" we went to the fire station. 
When we got there, the fireman invited us in. 
We all went around on one side of the truck. 
We saw the tank of chemicals. 

They use chemicals whenever they can, instead of water. 
Water spoils the furniture. 
In the back of the truck we saw a big hose. 
Then the fireman showed us the engine. 
Laurence turned the crank and we heard the siren. 
Ruby rang the bell. 

These tell the people to get out of the way. 
While we were still looking at the truck, there was a real fire. 
After they had gone, we went outside a little while. 
Then we went upstairs and saw their boots and the beds where 

they sleep. 
Soon the firemen came back. 
The fire was out. 

Then the firemen let Paul and Albert go down the pole. 
The following questions were given as a silent-reading lesson 
after the visit to the fire station: 

1. What did we see on the side of the truck? 

2. Why do they use chemicals? 

3. What did we see in the back of the truck? 

4. Who turned the crank? 

5. Who rang the bell? 

6. Why did they have these? 

7. What happened while we were looking at the engine? 

8. Where do the firemen sleep? 

9. Why do they stay at the station all night? 

A Lesson to Test and Develop the Ability to Comprehend 

Certain Words and Phrases 
(Submitted by Emma Watkins, First-Grade Teacher, University Elemen- 
tary School, State University of Iowa) 
The calendar used for these exercises is of the ordinary sort 
distributed as advertising by commercial houses. It was mounted 
on a large sheet of cardboard in order to give the required stiffness. 






TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 211 

The words, phrases, and sentences were printed on pieces of card- 
board, care being taken to print the entire phrase or sentence in 
one line. After seating the pupils as close to the calendar as con- 
venient, the lesson is begun by telling the pupils that they are to 
be shown flash cards upon which are printed words which will tell 
them what to point to on the calendar. Pupils are directed to 
stand as soon as they understand the meaning of the first phrase 
which is flashed. The pupil who finishes first is allowed to stand 
before the calendar and point to the appropriate place indicated 
by the flash card. This pupil continues the exercise, reading addi- 
tional cards, until he makes an error, when his place is taken by 
some other pupil who can read that exercise. The lesson as 
described here is given under time pressure. It presupposes that 
the words and phrases which are used have been already developed 
with the class. The class is an advanced first-grade class. 



1, Phrases 



yesterday 

to-day 

to-morrow 

next week 

this week 

the month 

the year 

the date 

week after next 

a week from to-morrow • 

two weeks from to-morrow 

a week ago yesterday 

day after to-morrow 

day before yesterday 

in two days 

the first day of the month 

the first day of the week 

next Saturday 

last Thursday, etc. 



the last day of the month 

the first quarter of the moon 

new moon 

full moon 

last quarter of the moon 

Sunday 

Monday 

Tuesday 

Wednesday 

Thursday 

Friday 

Saturday 

the day before the last day 

of the month 
the sixteenth 
the fifteenth, etc. 
next Monday, etc. 
next month 
last Monday 



2. Sentences 
On what day do you go to Sunday-School? 
What will be the last day of school this week? 
(Other similar sentences.) 



212 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

D. Types of remedial training work reported by 
C. J. Anderson and Elda Merton 

One of the difficult problems of the classroom teacher is 
to " individualize classroom teaching in reading so that the 
pupils could be given remedial treatment according to their 
particular needs." C. J. Anderson and Elda Merton have 
made a distinct contribution to this problem. 1 A few of the 
devices tried by them, which are somewhat different from 
devices already given, will be treated briefly. 

Listing words according to ten phonetic rules. The 
following excerpts from the articles by the authors men- 
tioned above will make clear how pupils in the second, third, 
and fourth grades who had not attained first-grade reading 
ability, were helped with word difficulty: 

Many teachers, following the phonic courses outlined in various 
reading manuals, require pupils to learn hundreds of phonograms, 
building up lists of words from each "family" as it is taught. 
Practically two thirds of alt "phonograms commonly taught would 
not need to be learned separately by the pupils, since the words 
containing them can be unlocked with the help of the ten phonetic 
rules of pronunciation. 

The following seat-work exercise was given pupils to overcome 
"periods of confusioa." Ten sheets of paper were fastened together. 
At the top of each was written one of the ten phonetic rules. In 
all study work the pupils watched for words containing these rules. 
As they found them, they listed these words on the pages where 
they belonged. Pupils were encouraged to look in newspapers, 
magazines, Sunday-School papers, etc., for these words also. 

The following are the ten phonetic rules referred to above: 
Phonetic Rules of Pronunciation 

1. When e comes at the end of a word of one syllable the e is 
silent and the preceding vowel is long. This is known as the 
rule of "Final e" — can, cane; not, note; cub, cube. 

Anderson, C. J., and Merton, Elda. "Remedial Work in Silent 
Reading"; in the Elementary School Journal (January, 1921), vol. 21, pp. 
S36-48. 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 218 

2. When two vowels occur together in a word the first vowel is 
long and the second vowel is silent. This is known as the rule 
of "Two vowels" — boat, people, neither, train, seize. 

3. C before e, i, or y has the sound of s — cent, city, fancy. 

4. G before e, i, or y has the sound of j — gentle, ginger, suggested, 

gypsy- 

5. W before r is silent — write, wrestle, wrap. 

6. K before n is silent — knight, knock, know, 

7. G before n is silent — gnat, gnaw, sign, gnome. 

8. Ph always has the sound of / — phonograph, elephant, phlox. 

9. When ed comes at the end of a word it adds a syllable when 
preceded by d or t — roasted, faded, laughed, rolled. 

10. In words ending in tion or sion the accent falls on the next to 
the last syllable — graduation, profession, ascension. 



4 



Drilling on phrases. The following paragraph explains 
a type of work that followed the word drill: 

When the pupils had attained first-grade reading ability, teach- 
ers eliminated word drills as such from the reading exercise and 
substituted lists of phrases. These phrases were taken directly 
from the lesson and contained the difficult words which needed 
special drill. This phrase drill served a triple purpose. It trained 
pupils to recognize word groups rather than single words, at the 
same time giving drill upon the pronunciation and the meaning of 
difficult words usually placed upon the board in word lists. 

Flashing of phrases. Two plans were used for the flash- 
ing of phrases. Six booklets of phrases were made. The 
booklets were graduated in difficulty and size of type as 
indicated below: 

Book I (Primer type) Book VI (twelve-point type) 

at last half the kingdom 

by and by Early in the morning 

one morning On his way home 

at home There was once 

all day Once upon a time 

far away a bit farther 

just then In the meantime 



214 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

ran away with all his might 

very well toward evening 

at once In an instant 

Some teachers found that the pupils learned the phrases 
by location, and consequently used small flash-cards two 
and one half inches by three and one quarter inches in size. 

Building up meaning vocabularies. The following is a 
valuable means of building up meaning vocabularies in the 
primary grades: 

Pupils in the primary grades built up large meaning vocabularies 
as a result of the following seat-work exercise. Sets of ten-word 
groups each were cut from old discarded primary readers, mounted 
on stiff paper, cut into separate word groups and placed in envel- 
opes made by the pupils for this purpose. Each envelope was 
numbered. A pupil received an envelope and during the seat- 
work period illustrated each word group with pencil and crayons, 
and placed the proper word group directly under each picture. 
The teacher checked this work carefully at the close of each 
period. If a child had made mistakes, he was told what the 
phrases were and given another chance to score 100 on the follow- 
ing day. Examples of mistakes were "a brown house" for "a 
brown horse," "the little chicken" for "the little children," etc. 
"When pupils scored 100 their envelopes were collected and they 
were given a new number. The teacher kept a record of the 
number of each envelope as a child finished it. As no two word 
groups in the entire set of envelopes were the same, a child who 
had completed fifteen envelopes would have comprehended one 
hundred and fifty word groups well enough to illustrate them cor- 
rectly. The following examples of these word groups were taken 
from one of these envelopes: 

a red squirrel our flag 

a fat boy seven children 

three big eggs the blue flowers 

a red and yellow kite two little robins 

a wee, wee house some brown leaves 

Using paragraph cards with specific questions on the 
back. The following gives the content of one of the para- 



TRAINING LESSONS IN SILENT READING 215 

graph cards used as a remedial device for the pupils show- 
ing inability to give correct answers to specific questions. 
The questions are printed on the back of the card: 

The Eskimo's House 
An Eskimo's winter home is made of snow. The Eskimo makes 
his house in one day. He cuts big blocks out of the snow. He 
puts them together. He must work carefully. At last the house 
is finished. There is a hole in one side. It is just large enough to 
crawl through. That is the door. What a queer little house with 
its queer little door! How can people live in it? But they do. 

Questions 
How long does it take to make an Eskimo winter hut? 
Of what is it made? 
Where is the door? 
How large is it? 

SOME POINTS TO REMEMBER 

1. Training lessons for what three general purposes are enumerated in 
the chapter? 

2. Enumerate the five devices treated under the first major heading. 
S. Enumerate the three main purposes discussed under the second 

major heading. 

4. List the different means given for developing a sense of the organiza- 
tion of reading matter. 

5. What main activities for vocabulary training are treated in the chap- 
ter? 

PROBLEMS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Formulate a phrase-flashing exercise, suitable for an intermediate- 
grade class. 

2. Try one of the two plans given under " Reading under a Time Limit," 
and report as to which type of pupil comprehended the best, the slow, 
the medium, or the fast reader. 

3. Give examples of reading matter that would be useful in skimming. 

4. How do you explain that primary teachers as a rule have not used 
action sentences and exercises for silent reading, instead of for oral 
reading? 

5. Select a unit of reading matter from one of your reading books, suit- 
able for silent reading and reproduction. 



216 SILENT AND ORAL READING , 

6. Select a cumulative story adapted for silent reading and factual 
questioning. 

7. How do you account for the absurd answers given to factual ques- 
tions, as listed on pages 173-174? 

8. What do you consider the chief source of error in relational compre- 
hension in silent reading? 

9. Formulate a training exercise in relational comprehension, using — 

(a) a selection from a reader 

(b) a selection from a history 

r (c) a selection of geographical material 

10. Report a scheme for training in silent reading, in connection with a 
language or a grammar lesson. In connection with an arithmetic 

* lesson. 

11. How could you correlate reading with construction work? 

12. Select a unit of reading matter suitable for a certain grade, and for- 
mulate a plan for training in the comprehension of the organization. 

13. Formulate a set of five exercises for training in the ability to grasp 
the central thought or the essential total meaning of a paragraph or 
stanza. 

14. Choose a reading unit suitable to a vocabulary-problem lesson, and 
give a brief account of your plan. 

15. Formulate a plan for a lesson on word study, similar to one of those 
quoted from Judd. 



CHAPTER IX 

READING TESTS AND THEIR USE IN IMPROVING READING 

Note: The reading of this chapter will be of greater value and 
the meaning clearer if a copy of each test described is at hand 
while reading the text. For the convenience of those who may 
wish to order samples or quantities of the tests the following 
information is listed, giving the publisher and address, the name 
of the test, and prices. 

The Public School Publishing Company, Bloomington, Illinois. Under 
the auspices of the Bureau of Research, University of Illinois. 1 

1. Courtis Silent-Reading Test No. 2. 

Sample Set, 20 cents. 

Form 1, for grades 2 to 6, $2.50 per 100. 

Form 3, for grades 2 to 6, $2.50 per 100. 

2. Gray Oral Reading, 80 cents per 100. 
r Sample Set, 6 cents. 

3. Gray Silent-Reading Tests. 
• Sample Set, 15 cents. 

Selections: "Tiny Tad" for grades 2 and 3; "Grasshoppers" for 

grades 4, 5, and 6; " Ancient Ships" for grades 7 and 8. 2 cents 

each title. 
Reproduction Sheets. 

"Tiny Tad" for grades 2 and 3, 75 cents per 100. 

"Grasshoppers" for grades 4, 5, and 6, 75 cents per 100. 

" Ancient Ships" for grades 7 and 8, 75 cents per 100. 

4. Monroe Standardized Silent-Reading Tests. 

See also Illinois Examination. 
Sample Set, 7 cents. 
Form 1. 

Test I, for grades 3, 4, and 5, 80 cents per 100. 

Test II, for grades 6, 7, and 8, 80 cents per 100. 
Form 2. 

Test I, for grades 3, 4, and 5, 80 cents per 100. 

Test II, for grades 6, 7, and 8, 80 cents per 100. 
Form 3. 

Test I, for grades 3, 4, and 5, 80 cents per 100. 

Test II, for grades 6, 7, and 8, 80 cents per 100. 

5. Holley Sentence Vocabulary Scale, Series 3A, 75 cents per 100. 

Sample Set, 6 cents. 

(Price list of January, 1921.) 

1 See note at end of this chapter. 



218 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York 
City. 
Thorndike-McCall Reading Scale. 

For examiner: One copy of Manual of Directions. One Record Sheet 
for each class. Directions and Record Sheets are supplied with 
each order. 
For pupil: One copy of the form selected. Price: $2.25 per 100. 
Sample set: One copy of Form 1 and direction bulletin. Price: 10 
cents. 
Thorndike Visual Vocabulary Scales. 

There are four scales, A2 x and A2 y, B x and B y. The words in the 
A series are classified as words meaning flowers, animals, names, games, 
books, etc.; the words of the B series — words about war, fighting, business, 
or money, church or religion, color, etc. The X or Y series may be used 
as alternates to measure improvement over a certain period or to check 
results. The four scales are of approximately equal difficulty. 

Material required 

For examiner: One copy of Manual of Directions. Price: 40 cents. 
One answer stencil for each scale. Price: 5 cents each. One 
Record Sheet for each 50 pupils, or class. Price: 3 cents. 

For pupil: One copy of each scale used. Scale A2 x and Scale B x are 
usually given at one time. Price: Each scale, 50 cents per 100; 
$4.25 per 1000. 

Sample set: One copy of each of the four scales. Price: 4 cents post- 
paid. 

(From price list of February, 1921.) 

Russell Sage Foundation, 130 East 22d Street, New York City. 
Scale for Measuring Ability in Silent Reading. May Ayres Burgess. 
Prices of Scales — Postage paid: 
Sample copies, five cents each. 
Less than 1000, $1.25 a hundred. 
1000 or over, $1.00 a hundred. 

(From price list of December, 1920.) 

fVorld Booh Company, Yonkers-on-Hudson, New York, Chicago, and 
Dallas, Texas. 
Haggerty Reading Examination 

Sigma 1. By M. E. Haggerty and Margaret E. Noonan. 8 pages. Illus- 
trated. Price per package of 25 examination booklets with Class Record, 
$1.40 net. 

Key for Sigma 1. Card. 1 page. Price 5 cents net. 
Sigma 2. By M. E. and Laura C. Haggerty. In preparation. 

For grades 3 to 6. 
Key for Sigma 2. In preparation. 



READING TESTS 219 

Sigma 3. By M. E. and Laura C. Haggerty. 8 pages. Price per 

package of 25 examination booklets with Class Record, $1.50 net. 
Key for Sigma 3. Card. 2 pages. Price 10 cents net. 
Manual of Directions. 48 pages. Price 30 cents net. 
Specimen Set. An envelope containing 1 each of Reading Examina- 
tion: Sigma 1 and Sigma 3; 1 Key for each of the two tests; 1 Manual; 
1 Class Record. Price 50 cents postpaid. 

(From price list of February, 1921.) 

Department of Psychology, University of Indiana, Bloomington. 
The Pressey-Skeel Group Vocabulary Test. 

(Printed in primer type.) 

In connection with the recent movement to measure 
abilities and achievement scientifically, and to set up 
objective standards of accomplishment, there has been a 
rather large number of reading tests devised. A few of 
these have been used widely over the country, and others 
have been used very little. These tests are of interest not 
only because they are valuable measuring instruments to 
use, but also because they show ways by means of which 
the teacher may improve the usual classroom tests with 
material at hand. 

1. Oral Reading Tests 

Gray's oral-reading test. The most widely used oral- 
reading test is the one devised by Dean Gray, of the School 
of Education of Chicago University. After several years 
of experimenting, testing, and retesting, he arranged a 
large sheet of twelve paragraphs, printed in type sizes 
suited to the grade to be tested, and increasing in difficulty 
from primer material to material too difficult for the eighth 
grade. The paragraphs reproduced on page 220 are typical 
of two sizes of type used. 

Each child is tested individually, preferably in a room 
by itself. The grade or score depends upon the rate of 
reading combined with the errors, such as pronunciations, 



220 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

1 

A boy had a dog. 
The dog ran into the woods. 
The boy ran after the dog. 
He wanted the dog to go home. 
But the dog would not go home. 
The little boy said, 

"I cannot go home without my dog." 
Then the boy began to cry. 

6 

The part of farming enjoyed most by a boy 
is the making of maple sugar. It is better than 
blackberrying and almost as good as fishing. 
One reason why a boy likes this work is that 
someone else does most of it. It is a sort of work 
in which he can appear to be very industrious and 
yet do but little. 

repetitions, etc. The reading is timed by a watch. The 
tester, preferably without the child's knowing it, ascertains 
and records the number of seconds it takes to read each 
paragraph, as far as the child is able to read without too 
many errors. As the child reads, the tester records on a 
copy of the paragraphs the errors made by the pupil. Within 
certain limitations the faster the pupil reads and the smaller 
the number of errors, the higher the score. Some practice 
is needed to develop skill in giving the test. The direc- 
tions for recording errors are as follows: 



READING TESTS 221 

The sun pierced into m? large windows. It was the opening of October, 
and the sky was<£?)a dazzling blue. I looked out of my window dimD down 
the street The white hous^of tho long, slight street were^Jtnost painful 
to the eyes. The dear atmosphere allowed full play to^ljs stjnjij>rightness. 

If a word is wholly mispronounced, underline h as in the case of "atmosphere.* 
If a portion of a word is mispronounced, mark appropriately as indicated above: 
"pierced" pronounced in two syllables, sounding long a in "dazzling," omitting the 
* in "houses" or the al from "almost, or the r in "straight." Omitted words are 
marked as in the case of "of" and "and", substitutions as in the case of "many" 
for "my" insertions as in the case of "clear"; and repetitions as in the case of ' r to 
the sun's/ Two or more words should be repeated to count as a repetition. 

Fig. 13. Directions fob recording Errors in the Gray Oral- 
Reading Test 

Advantages of this test. An important advantage in 
using such a standardized test is that, from its use, teachers 
and pupils may know how each class and grade ranks, in 
comparison to standards for the country as a whole. 
These have been established as a result of the testing of 
thousands of pupils in each grade in different parts of the 
United States. The test also has large diagnostic value. 
In the case of pupils not up to standard, the record for each 
will show whether or not the child reads too slowly, and 
what is the nature of the errors he makes. 

The writer once asked a teacher of a third-grade class to 
let him hear the best two readers in the class. Both read 
without errors, but it appeared that one read considerably 
faster than the other. Both were given the Gray test. 
The time of the one was very much less than that of the 
other, and both made very few errors. A careful listening 
to the slower one showed that he read by words, and the 
faster one by groups of words. The problem of the slower 
one was to learn to phrase properly. The teacher was not 
sufficiently aware of the importance of phrasing in relation 
to the rate of reading and to the expression of the meaning. 

In some cases the errors will be of certain types. For 



222 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

instance, a pupil may make most of his errors through a 
habit of repetition. It will make a stronger impression 
upon the pupil if he is shown the teacher's record, indicat- 
ing just where he repeated in each paragraph, than if he is 
merely admonished in the usual way. This individual 
diagnosis is one of the chief advantages of the test. If it 
is not possible to test all of the pupils of the school in oral 
reading, it is more important to test the pupils in the lower 
grades, and the poorer readers in the other grades. 

Limitations of the test. The time taken to test pupils 
by an elaborate scheme of this kind naturally raises the 
question as to whether it pays. This is an important 
question, which, of course, can be answered only by each 
school and teacher. The writer believes that the light 
thrown upon the elements determining good oral-reading, 
and the interesting facts revealed through an objective 
measurement, will make it worth while for all teachers of 
the three lower grades to do some testing with Gray's 
Standardized Paragraphs. All need not be tested, but 
much light will be thrown on the reading difficulties of 
some by such testing. 

The Jones vocabulary test. A number of years ago R. G. 
Jones made a study of all the words found in ten primers. 
These were divided into phonetic words and sight words. 
In order to test the pupils' recognition of the more com- 
monly used words, he listed on a card the phonetic words 
found ten or more times. He listed these in the order of 
the number of times they recurred in the primers. For 
instance, bit was found 1101 times and stands first. He did 
the same with the sight words. The test consists in seeing 
how many of these words the pupil can pronounce in list 
form. The testing must, of course, be done individually. 
The author has established standards for the upper first 
grade, and each half of the second and third grades. By 



READING TESTS 223 

using this test a teacher may obtain comparative results 
from different methods or systems of teaching reading. 
A class score may be secured by testing ten pupils, promis- 
cuously selected. It will repay every lower-grade teacher 
to try out this test, and use it as a help in formulating sim- 
ilar tests adapted to her reading material. 1 

2. Hearing-Reading Tests 
How to test the listening powers. So far there has been 
no scientific attempt to test listening ability. The follow- 
ing, taken from the Teacher s Ma?iual for the Boys' and 

Girls' Fifth Reader ; by Bolenius, is suggestive: 

Before beginning the reading, ask the pupils to write their 
names and the date at the top of a sheet of paper. Then let them 
lay these papers on the desks face downward, so that they will not 
catch any curious eyes. Next, the teacher announces that she is 
going to read a story. Instead of letting the class read the intro- 
duction themselves, the teacher should use this herself to intro- 
duce the story. The children should sit in comfortable positions, 
with no books whatsoever, but alert and ready to listen and enjoy. 

Many teachers may prefer to distribute the readers to the class 
after the second day's reading, instead of at the beginning. 

The teacher reads The Rivals on page 1 in her clearest, most 
interesting voice. When she concludes, she should ask the chil- 
dren to turn their papers face up and copy the questions she will 
dictate about the story that they have just heard. There are 
two ways to do this: (1) she may tell them to leave two lines vacant 
between questions for the insertion of the answers; or (2) she may 
dictate the question, have the children copy it, and answer it at 
once, the teacher meanwhile observing the children to find out 
who have quick and retentive minds and who have trouble to 
think and to remember. 

The following questions bring out the main facts: 

J. The Rivals (page 1) 
1. Whom did Tim want to beat at hoeing turnips? [Perkins, or 
the hired man — accept either one.] 2. Who taught Cameron to 

1 Read " Standard Vocabulary," by Jones, R. G., in Fourteenth Yearbook 
of the National Society for the Study of Education (1915), part i, pp. 37-43. 



224 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

hoe turnips? [Tim.] 3. What did they call the long ridge of 
earth in which the turnips were planted? [A drill.] 4. What 
sound did the hoes seem to make? [Click-click.] 

77. The Race (page 6) 
1. Was the race in the morning or in the evening? [Evening.] 
2. Who told Tim how to race Perkins? [Cameron.] 3. Who won 
the race? [Tim.] 4. Who came to the field at the end of the race? 
[Tim's father; or Haley; or the farmer.]'. 



3. Testing Silent Reading 
A, Factors to consider in selecting reading tests 
In order that the discussion of the silent-reading tests 
may be of more value and interest, the following points 
should be kept in mind in considering each : 

1. Does the test measure rate, or comprehension, or both? 
Does it measure the degree of difficulty the pupil is able to 
grasp, or the amount done? Do the scores reveal the ac- 
curacy with which the pupil apprehends the reading done? 
8. How is the rate tested? In terms of the number of words 
read per minute, or in terms of some other unit? Standards 
in rate are generally stated in terms of the number of words 
read per minute. 
S. What element or elements of comprehension are tested? 
While the following analysis is not entirely free from over- 
lapping of elements, it may be helpful, 
(a) Grasp of the facts 

(jb) Conception of the rational relationships (The reason- 
ing element) 

(c) Comprehension of the organization 

(d) The getting of the central idea or the essential total 
meaning or effect 

(e) Understanding of directions 

(J) The subtler elements of appreciation, criticism, dis- 
covering new problems, judging validity of statements, 
etc. 
4. How is the comprehension tested? The following types of 
responses have been used: 



READING TESTS 225 

(a) Reproducing 

(6) Writing answers to factual questions 

(c) Writing "yes" or "no" 

(d) Writing answers to problem questions 

(e) Indicating answers to questions by underlining one of 
several given answers 

(J) Adding a detail, such as a line, an eye, or a tail, to 
complete a drawing 

(g) Indicating comprehension of ideas by drawing a line, 
ring, or cross on a picture 

(h) Indicating a grasp of the essential total meaning of a 
paragraph by following correctly simple drawing in- 
structions in the paragraph 

5. Is the reading-content narration, description, directions, 
poetry, the informational type, or a mixture of two or more? 
Is rapid or careful reading tested? 

6. Is the method of scoring a simple or a complicated one? 

7. What criticisms may be made regarding the test? 

Necessity of using several tests. It is hardly possible 
to get a complete and adequate testing of silent-reading 
ability by the use of any one test. As there are various 
types of silent reading, varying in purposes, conditions, 
and elements involved, it would appear impossible to have 
a single test that would completely measure silent-reading 
ability. The ones that have been most widely used and the 
ones best -adapted to classroom use will be described. 

B. The Monroe Standardized General Survey Silent- Reading 

Tests 
These tests have been devised after the plan of the Kansas 
Silent-Reading Tests, which were objectionable because 
they consisted too largely of reading puzzles not typical of 
ordinary reading situations. Test I is for the third, fourth, 
and fifth grades, and Test II is for the sixth, seventh, and 
eighth grades. The original edition of these tests was used 
extensively. Sample exercises from the original edition 



226 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

may be seen on page 193. The improvements made in the 
revised edition are the elimination of complicating directions 
and the type of exercise that required a choice between two 
alternatives, such as " yes " or " no," as a comprehension 
response. 

The content and the type of response in the Monroe tests. 
The following exercises are taken from the revised edition. 
Test I, Form I, for the third, fourth, and fifth grades. 

1. One evening in the late autumn I saw some beautiful 
11 birds come out of the bushes. They were as white as snow. 
24 They were swans. They flew high in the air and sailed away 

37 to the warm South. 

38 What kind of bird did I see? 

45 pigeon duck goose canary swan 

193 5. Six white eggs on a bed of hay, ' 

201 Flecked with purple, a pretty sight! 

207 There as the mother sits all day 

214 Robert is singing with all his might. 

221 The above lines of a poem tell about a bird's nest. Of 

234 what does this stanza say the bird's nest was made? 

243 sticks leaves hay moss grass 

Fig. 14. Samples of the Monroe Silent-Reading Test — I 

In the instructions, the pupil is told to answer each 
question by drawing a line under the correct word. He is 
given three preliminary exercises like this before beginning 
the real test in order to make sure that the pupil under- 
stands what to do. 

It will be noted that each of the foregoing exercises is a 
test of factual comprehension. Of the seventeen exercises 
in the test, eight are of the factual type. The other nine 
exercises test the pupil's ability to grasp the essential total 
meaning or effect of the paragraph or stanza. Of the 
sixteen exercises in Test II, Form I, for the sixth, seventh, 
and eighth grades, only one is clearly of the factual type. 



READING TESTS 227 

The following exercises taken from the upper-grade test 
are typical of those that test the pupil's grasp of the essen- 
tial total meaning or effect : 

60 2. It was cold, bleak, biting weather; foggy withal; and 

70 he could hear the people in the court outside go wheezing up 

82 and down, beating their hands upon their breasts and stamp- 

92 ing their feet upon the pavement-stones to warm them. 
99 What kind of picture does this paragraph describe? 
107 comfortable luxurious cheerless pleasant exciting 

409 9. At every turn the maples burn, 

415 The quail is whistling free. 

420 The partridge whirrs and the frosted burrs 

427 Are dropping for you and me. 

433 What season of the year does the stanza tell about? Draw 

445 a line under the one you think. 

451 spring summer autumn winter 

560 12. He was lying alone, one sunny spring day, on a mossy 
571 bank beside the clear stream flowing past with steady, cease- 
581 less motion. He had his book open in his hand, but he was 

not reading. 
595 Draw a line under the word which tells why he was not 

607 reading. 

608 frightened asleep hungry cold unhappy 

Fig. 15. Samples of the Monroe Silent-Reading Test — U 

The rate and comprehension scores. The pupils are 
allowed exactly four minutes to read and indicate the 
answers. The method of determining the rate and compre- 
hension scores is made clear in the following paragraph, 
taken from the sheet of directions : * 

On this test the pupil is to be given two scores, one for rate and 
one for comprehension. The rate score is the average number of 
words read per minute. The words of the exercises have been 
counted and the accumulative totals printed in the left-hand 
margin. Take the number which the pupil has marked as indi- 
cating the line he was reading when time was called, and divide 



228 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

it by 4, since four minutes were allowed for the reading. The 
quotient is the number of words he has read per minute and be- 
comes his rate score. The pupil's comprehension score is the num- 
ber of exercises which he has done correctly. The pupil is expected 
to underline the correct word. However, accept any indication of 
the right word as correct. Write both the rate and comprehen- 
sion scores in the upper right-hand corner of the first page of the 
test folder. Note that in the case of Test II, 5 is to be added to 
the comprehension score and 29 to the rate score to make them 
comparable with the scores on Test I. 

Possible criticisms of the Monroe tests. A strictly 
accurate measuring-rod will have units of exact equality in 
every respect. Every inch on the yardstick, for instance, 
is exactly equivalent to every other inch. But Monroe has 
a mixture of content-units. Some are prose and some 
poetry. Some are descriptive and some narrative. Again, 
especially in the test for the third, fourth, and fifth grades, 
a part of the time, the test is measuring ability to respond 
to fact questions, and a part of the time it is measuring the 
ability to respond to thought or interpretative questions. 

Furthermore, it does not appear that the test was worked 
out with sufficient care to insure that the units are of equal 
difficulty. Out of sixty-nine fourth-grade pupils tested, a 
teacher found that one exercise tried by all was done cor- 
rectly by 96 per cent of the pupils, while another tried by all 
was done correctly by only 68 per cent of the pupils. Exer- 
cise No. 12, reproduced on page 227, will no doubt be 
brought into question by many teachers as being very 
easily susceptible of misinterpretation, and, consequently, 
will prove to be more difficult than some of the others in 
the same test. 

While it is claimed that the test measures the rate of 
reading in terms of the number of words read per minute, 
it apparently does not do so. Gray established his rate 
norms, as given on page 21, by timing individually the 



READING TESTS 



229 



pupil's reading of one hundred words. The question may 
naturally arise as to why the rate in the Gray Tests is so 
much greater than in the Monroe Test as shown in Table II. 



Table II. Comparison of the Monroe and Gray Rate 

Standards 
Words per Minute 



Grade 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


Gray 

Monroe 


90 


138 
86 


180 
121 


204 
137 


216 
147 


228 
160 


240 
177 



The Monroe rate-value is not an accurate measure of 
rate in terms of the number of words per minute, because 
the time unit includes the time the pupil is deliberating, 
re-reading, and recording responses. In view of the fact 
that considerable re-reading will be done by the pupils, 
more by some than by others, the rate-score is not accurate 
as a measure of the number of words read in a minute. 

Evaluation of the Monroe test. Notwithstanding the 
inherent defects in the test, it provides a valuable index to 
the pupil's ability to do careful reading under a time limit. 
It reveals whether the pupil is rapid and accurate, rapid 
and careless, slow and accurate, or slow and inaccurate. 
It is very important for the teacher to know these charac- 
teristics in a definitely measured way in order to administer 
effectively to the individual needs of the pupils by means 
of special groupings, adaptation of content to ability, and 
the use of remedial instruction. In addition the tests are 
relatively inexpensive, easily given without consuming 
much time, and easily scored. The relation of rate and 
comprehension attainment for a school and the accomplish- 



230 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

ment of the school as compared to the average of the coun- 
try may be made clear and emphatic by graphing the results. 

C. Scale for Measuring Ability in Silent-Reading, by 
May Ayers Burgess 

Similarities to the Monroe test. Like the Monroe test, 
the Burgess test consists of short units and the score de- 
pends upon the number of exercises done correctly in five 
minutes. Both measure careful reading under a time limit. 

Essential characteristics of the Burgess test. The type 




1. This naughty dog likes to steal bones. When he 
steals one he hides it where no other dog can find it. 
He has just stolen two bones, and you must take your 
pencil and make two short, straight lines, to show 
where they are lying on the ground near the dog. 
Draw them as quickly as you can, and then go on. 



Fig. 16. A Sample Unit of the Burgess Silent-Reading Scale 

of comprehension response is unique. This can be shown 
best by reproducing one of the twenty units, each of which 
requires the same type of response. 

The Burgess theory of measurement. The author of 
this test has made a stimulating contribution to the theory 
of measurement in education. A reproduction of the au- 
thor's summary with reference to the three types of tests 



READING TESTS 231 

and the single variable will suffice for the purposes of this 
treatment : l 

1. The innumerable factors which influence the results of 
testing may be classified into three distinct fundamental 
groups. They are variables of quality, of difficulty, or of 
amount. 

2. The measurement of quality is illustrated by contests in 
marksmanship or in bowling. In these contests the difficulty 
of task and the time allowed for doing it are maintained as 
constants, and the variable measured is the quality of the 
performance. 

3. The measure for difficulty is seen in the high jump. There 
quality and time are constants, and the variable is the diffi- 
culty of the hardest task successfully done. 

4. The measure for amount is seen in the race, where quality 
is but slightly operative, difficulty is constant, and the 
variable measured is either the amount done in a given time, 
or the time required to do a given amount. 

5. Time and amount are complementary terms, each of which 
depends for its meaning upon the other. In the threefold 
classification of variables, the term amount is to be consid- 
ered as carrying with it its companion term time, 

6. Educational measurements are attempts to answer the three 
fundamental classroom questions: "How well can he do?" 
"How hard work can he do?" and "How fast can he do it?" 
Each seeks to measure one of the three ^fundamental factors, 
and, according to which it selects, it may be classified as a test 
or scale for quality, for difficulty, or for amount. 

7. The student of educational measurement who plans to devise 
a scale for ability in any school subject must consider, first, 
which of the three variables he will attempt to measure; and 
second, having chosen that variable and thereby fixed the 
type of scale which must be employed, what are the implica- 
tions as to the methods he must follow. 

The following excerpts are selected to show how the 
author of the test concluded to use this particular type of 
test: 

1 Burgess, May Ayers. The Measurement of Silent Reading. Russell 
Sage Foundation, New York, 1921. 



232 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

Reading does not readily lend itself to measurement by scales 
for quality of product. One reason for this is that it does not 
directly result in a tangible objective product of such a nature that 
its goodness or quality can be measured. Another reason is that 
for practical purposes the problem of measuring reading is to 
discover not what rich and varied meanings the subject draws 
from the printed page, but rather, how rapidly he can read the 
material with a sufficient degree of comprehension to get from it 
the essentials of its meaning. 

Reading is a subject in which the time allowed is of great 
influence on scores secured through testing. In scales for reading, 
the time element must therefore be controlled. Since the task of 
recording rate or controlling time, in a large group of children, 
for every child, at every step of a difficulty scale, presents nearly 
prohibitive difficulties of administration, the attempt to make a 
difficulty scale for reading was abandoned. 

Reading is readily measurable by tests and scales for amount 
done. In such measurement, the quality required is reading good 
enough to get the essential thought. The difficulty of the testing 
material is confined to a single type, and is maintained at a single 
level. A time limit is set which shall result in scores fairly dis- 
tributed between and 100; and the variable measured is the 
amount of such reading under such conditions that the child can 
do successfully in the time allowed. The new scale for measuring 
silent reading, Picture Supplement Scale 1, is a scale for amount 
done. 

The four outstanding characteristics of the scale are 
given as follows by the author: 

The scale has four outstanding characteristics. The first is 
that it makes a definite attempt to measure a single ability, which 
is the ability to read silently a single type of material, at a con- 
stant level of difficulty, in a fixed period of time. It measures the 
amount of reading of a practically useful nature which the child 
can do in five minutes. 

The second outstanding feature of the new scale is that a care- 
ful attempt has been made to discover the controlling factors in 
silent reading. Some twenty-five such factors have been identi- 
fied. One, the child's rate of reading, has been adopted as the 
variable to be measured; and the remaining twenty-four factors 



READING TESTS 



have been, in so far as possible, held constant. It is believed that 
by following this method, a test has been prepared in which every 
task presents the same type of reading difficulty as every other, 
and for which the scores represent comparative amounts of one 
single sort of reading ability. 

The third outstanding feature is that the test is planned for 
classroom use. It can be given to large numbers of pupils simul- 
taneously. It requires five minutes for actual testing; and can 
be scored accurately, rapidly, and easily. The cost of printing 
has been kept low; and companion editions can be prepared as 
need arises. Three such alternate editions have already been 
prepared as Picture Supplement Scales 2, 3, and 4. 

The fourth outstanding feature is that grade scores have been 
turned into equivalent scale values for those grades. This makes 
it possible, in testing with Picture Supplement Scale 1, to measure 
the ability of each child in terms of its relation to the known 
abilities of other children who are approximately of the same 
degree of maturity, and have received approximately the same 
amounts of training. 

The pupil's score. The score depends upon the number 
of paragraphs marked correctly. Table III shows the 
scheme, which gives a higher credit the lower the grade for a 
certain number of paragraphs read correctly. 



Table HI. Credit Corresponding to each Number op 
Paragraphs marked in each Grade 



H 


Number of Paragraphs read and marked correctly 


R 


o 





1 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


17 


18 


19 


20 


i 


s 





26 


32 


38 


44 


50 


5V 


62 


08 


74 


SO 


86 


92 


98 


100 














3 


4 





14 


20 


26 


32 


3S 


44 


.50 


56 


62 


68 


74 


80 


86 


92 


98 


100 










4 


5 





8 


14 


20 


26 


32 


38 


44 


50 


56 


62 


68 


74 


80 


86 


92 


98 


100 








5 


6 





2 


8 


14 


20 


26 


32 


38 


44 


50 


56 


62 


68 


74 


80 


S6 


92 


98 


100 






6 


7 







2 


8 


14 


20 


26 


32 


38 


44 


50 


5G 


62 


68 


74 


80 


86 


92 


98 


100 




7 


8 









2 


8 


14 


20 


20 


32 


38 


44 


50 


56 


62 


68 


74 


80 


86 


92 


98 


100 


8 



What the Burgess scoring plan does not reveal. There 
are two distinct factors in reading efficiency, rate and com- 



234 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

prehension. The Monroe test, which is similar to the Bur- 
gess test, gives a score in rate and one in comprehension, 
as has been noted previously. Any test of the type of these 
two which does not reveal in the pupil's score some index of 
the pupil's accuracy or inaccuracy will be limited in its 
value to schools. The teacher and the supervisory officer 
need to know the relation of the pupil's rate and compre- 
hension in order to provide the right kind of training and 
experience. With the Burgess plan of scoring, it is impossi- 
ble to graph the results for a room or a school to show this 
relationship. 

Evaluation of the Burgess test. The Burgess test has 
been very carefully worked out and no doubt is one of the 
most accurate measuring-rods, for the thing it professes to 
measure, of any of the scales or tests. It is an adequate 
measure of a certain type of reading on a certain level of 
difficulty. The author does not claim that it is an adequate 
measure of what some term general reading ability. 

D. The Gray^ Silent-Reading Tests 
The content of the tests. There are three of the Gray 
silent-reading tests, progressive in difficulty. The title of 
each test, the grades for which it is intended, and the first 
paragraph of each test, are shown below, to give the reader 
an idea of the content of these tests : 

Tiny Tad 

(Grades two and three) 
Tmy Tad was a queer little fellow with only two legs and a 
short tail. He was nearly black, too, and much smaller than most 
tadpoles in the big pond. He could hardly wait for his front legs 
to grow. 

The Grasshoppers 
(Grades four, five, and six) 
The grasshoppers were among the worst enemies of the early 
settlers of Nebraska. Their homes were on the high plains and 



READING TESTS 235 

among the hills at the foot of the great mountains in the West. 
Here they lived and raised their families. 

Ancient Ships 
(Grades seven and eight) 
There is no more interesting study to marine architects than 
that of the growth of modern ships from the earliest form. Ancient 
ships of war and of commerce equally interest them; but as they 
study the sculptures and writings of the ancients, they find the 
records of warships far outnumbering ships of commerce. 

How the rate is tested. The method of measuring the 
rate of the pupil's reading in the Gray tests is given briefly 
in the following statement of Dean Gray: 

Each of these selections was printed on a separate card in three 
columns. The middle column of the easiest selection contained 
exactly one hundred words, and the corresponding column in 
each of the other cases contained exactly two hundred words. 
This device in printing enabled the one giving the test to record 
the exact time required to read one or two hundred words, as the 
case might be. 

Gray's measure of comprehension. One of the first 
means used in testing comprehension in scientific tests was 
to have the pupils reproduce the story or information read. 
Starch l found, by marking out the parts of the reproduc- 
tion that were wrong, or that were not in the content of the 
test, and then counting the number of words, that he had 
as a general rule an accurate measure of comprehension. 
Gray uses two types of responses and takes an average. 
One type is the Starch method of reproduction, and the 
other is that of having the pupils answer a set of questions 
after they have read the material and written the repro- 
duction. Unlike the Monroe tests, the pupils do not have 
the content before them while answering the questions. 

1 Starch, Daniel. " The Measurement of Efficiency in Reading"; in 
Journal of Educational Psychology (January, 1915), vol. vi, pp. 1-24. 



236 SILENT AND ORAL READING ' 

The following is his list of questions on the test for the 
fourth, fifth, and sixth grades: 

The Grasshoppers 

1. In what Western State were the grasshoppers enemies to the 
settlers? 

2. What effect did the dry seasons have on the number of grass- 
hoppers? 

3. On what kind of nights did the grasshoppers sometimes travel 
all night long? 

4. When the grasshoppers were making their long journeys 
what would they often do late in the afternoon? 

5. In what year did the great grasshopper raid take place? 

6. Like what did the great groups of grasshoppers look as they 
traveled through the air? 

7. What sort of noise did they make when flying through the 
air? 

8. What change was brought about in the appearance of the 
cornfields by the grasshoppers between morning and night? 

9. What did the settlers do to protect their favorite plants? 
10. Why didn't the grasshoppers eat the broomcorn and sor- 
ghum? 

The Gray tests, individual tests. The Gray tests are 
individual tests. His device for testing the rate necessi- 
tates testing the pupils one at a time. For this reason they 
are not practical for schoolroom use, as the giving of them 
consumes too much time. But for measuring the rate of 
certain individuals for the particular type of material repre- 
sented in the test, the Gray method is the most accurate 
one that has been devised. 



E. The Courtis Silent- Reading Test 
The content. The Courtis test consists of a simple story 
of 567 words. The first part of the story is reproduced in 
exact type in Fig. 17. This story is about a third- or fourth- 
grade story. 



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238 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

The rate test. As this is a group test, all the pupils read 
at the same time, beginning exactly together at the teacher's 
signal. The rate of reading is determined by having the 
pupils each mark the last word at the end of each half- 
minute and at the teacher's signal. The pupils are allowed 
to read for exactly three minutes. The number of words 
read per minute is found by determining the number of 
words read at the end of two minutes and dividing that 
number by two. The Courtis rate represents the rate of 
silent reading of rapid narrative material. As shown in 
Fig. 8, page 23, the Gray rate standard is higher than the 
Courtis in the fourth and fifth grades, but the Courtis 
standard rate is considerably higher than the Gray in the 
seventh and eighth. To what extent the latter difference is 
due to the difference in the type and difficulty of the content 
of the two tests has not been determined scientifically, but 
that is the probable explanation of it. 

The comprehension test. 1 The Courtis comprehension 
test is a separate test immediately following the rate test. 
In contrast to the Gray comprehension test, the pupils have 
the material before them as they answer the questions. 
This is made clear by reference to the following excerpt from 
the comprehension test: 

When the day of the party came, Daddy planted a May-pole 
and Mother tied it with gay-eolored ribbons. There were to be 
games and dances on the grass and a delicious supper, with a 
basket full of flowers for every child. 

1. Were the children to have anything to eat? 

2. Were they going to play on the grass? w 

3. Were they going into the house to dance? 

4. Were the baskets to be full of flowers? 

5. Was it Daddy who tied the ribbons to the pole?. 



1 Read: Courtis, S. A. " The Problems of Measuring Ability in Silent 
Reading"; in the American School Board Journal, May, 1917. 



READING TESTS 239 

It will be noted that the questions are so worded that 
they may each be answered by " Yes " or " No." They 
are factual questions, and consequently test only the factual 
clement in comprehension. As the pupils have an oppor- 
tunity to re-read, to find the answers to the questions, the 
test measures factual comprehension in careful reading. 
As the responses to the questions are given as " yes " or 
" no," by mere chance guessing of the pupils the average 
score would be fifty per cent. The folder of directions 
gives the directions for getting the index of comprehension, 
as follows: 

If a child wrote "Yes" (or "No") to every question he would 
have fifty per cent of his answers right. The significant feature 
of his answers is the relation the difference between the right and 
wrong answers bears to the right answers. This will be called 
"The Index of Comprehension." It is found as follows : Subtract 
the wrong answers from the right answers. (If there are more 
wrong than right, find the difference and give it a negative sign.) 
Then divide the difference by the number of right answers, carry- 
ing the results to three places and keeping two. (To the nearest 
whole per cent.) Most scores will fall between ten and sixty 
questions right and the index of comprehension between one 
hundred per cent and seventy-five per cent. 

Comments on the Courtis test. It is very much to be 
regretted that the mechanical make-up of the printing of 
the story in the Courtis test has marked differences from 
that to which pupils are accustomed. For the younger 
children this is likely to retard the rate. You will note, in 
the reproduction in Fig. 17, that the spacing between the 
words is unusually wide, and that the lines are closer to- 
gether than the standards of the hygiene of printing require. 
These facts may explain why the Courtis rate standards 
are lower in the third and fourth grades than the Gray 
standards. 



240 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

The Courtis test may be said to measure the rate of 
rapid silent-reading of a simple third- or fourth-grade story, 
and to measure the grasp of certain facts in the careful 
reading and re-reading of the story in sections. While the 
test appears to be an accurate measure of these types of 
reading rate and comprehension for the lower intermediate 
grades, there is serious question as to whether it is an ade- j 
quate measure of rate in rapid narrative reading for the 
upper grades. Some teachers report that the manipulation 
of the pamphlets is confusing and that, on that account, it is 
.not an accurate comprehension test. This objection can 
probably be overcome by a skillful handling of the test on 
the part of the teacher. 



F. The Thorndike and the Thorndike-McCall Scales for 
Measuring the Understanding of Sentences 

The Thorndike scale. In his scale, Thorndike does not 
attempt to measure rate. He measures comprehension in 
careful reading. The plan of the scale is illustrated in Fig. 
18. The paragraph and the questions are both before the 
pupils for reading and re-reading as they are in the Monroe 
and in the Courtis tests, but there is no time limit as there 
is in the other two tests. 

Part I and Part II are arranged on separate sheets. One 
objection to the tests has been the large size of the sheets. 
On the two sheets there is a total of seven sets of paragraphs 
and questions, arranged in order of difficulty. The useful- 
ness of the Thorndike test to classroom teachers has been 
limited on account of the difficulty in determining the 
correctness of some answers, the complicated plan of 
scoring, and the large amount of time consumed in giving 
and scoring the test. 



READING TESTS 241 

Set I. Difficulty 4 {approximately) 

Read this and then write the answers. Read it again if you need to. 

John had two brothers who were both tall. Their names were 

Will and Fred. John's sister, who was short, was named Mary. 

John liked Fred better than either of the others. All of these 

children except Will had red hair. He had brown hair. 

1. Was John's sister tall or short? 

2. How many brothers had John? . 

3. What was his sister's name? 

Set V. {in part). Difficulty 8 
Read this and then write the answers to 5, 6, 7, and 8. Read it 
again if you need to. 

In Franklin, attendance upon school is required of every child 
between the ages of seven and fourteen on every day when school 
is in session unless the child is so ill as to be unable to go to school, 
or some person in his house is ill with a contagious disease, or the 
roads are impassable. 

5.^What is the general topic of the paragraph? . . . 

6. How many cases are stated which make absence excusable? 

Fig. 18. Sample Exercises of the Thorndike Reading Tests 

The Thorndike-McCall scale. 1 The Thorndike-McCall 
scale has been issued in pamphlet form, and Form I consists 
of units which had previously been standardized in the 
Thorndike scale. The new test has a time limit of thirty 
minutes and a simple plan of scoring, and grade and age 
standards are provided in the manual of directions. It is a 
test of ability to comprehend increasingly more difficult 
material. This is in contrast to the Burgess test, which we 
have noted as a measure of the number of units, all on the 
same level of difficulty, read and comprehended accurately 
in a given time of five minutes. 

^ead: McCall, William A. "A Uniform Method of Scale Construc- 
tion"; in the Teachers College Record (January, 1921), vol. xxu, pp. 31-51. 



242 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

Evaluation of the scale. The amount of time that it 
takes to give and score a test is a matter of practical con- 
sideration to the classroom teacher. The Thorndike-McCall 
test is time-consuming in comparison to the Monroe or the 
Burgess test. However, it has the advantage of measuring 
through a type of response which pupils use frequently in 
school, namely, questions and answers. The score depends 
upon the number of correct responses. Consequently, like 
the Burgess test, the scores do not reveal the degree of 
accuracy of the reading. The type of exercises represented 
in the scale is a valuable one to use as a training exercise in 
silent reading. 

The Thorndike-McCall scale has the advantage of being 
issued in ten different forms, so a new test can be given each 
month to measure progress. 

G. The Haggerty Reading Examinations 
The test for the primary grades. The Haggerty-Noonan 
test, Sigma 1, is designed for grades one, two, and three. 
The samples in Fig. 19 illustrate the types of responses 
called for, the content, the size of type, and the length of 
line of the test. Unfortunately, the lines of the reading 
matter beyond the eighth exercise are too long, almost 
twice as long as the length of line best adapted to speed in 
reading. . 

As illustrated in the sample exercises, the test is progres- 
sive in difficulty, and consequently, like the Thorndike- 
McCall test, measures the ability of the pupil to compre- 
hend increasingly more difficult material. As the score 
depends upon the number of exercises done correctly, it 
does not reveal the accuracy of the reading. The pupils are 
allowed exactly twenty minutes in which to indicate 
responses to as many of the twenty-five exercises as possible. 
The type of exercise is such that it takes less time to check 
up the pupil's paper than in the Thorndike-McCall test. 




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READING TESTS 245 

It is the only silent-reading test feasible for the first grade. 
On the last page of the Haggerty-Noonan test booklet is 
Test 2, consisting of twenty questions to be answered by 
" Yes " or " No." The following are samples: 

2. Can a hat walk? 

3. Are men larger than boys? 

20. Do convicts sometimes escape? 

In case the pupil gets a larger number right than wrong, 
the score is the number right minus the number wrong. 
Otherwise, the score is zero. This is a simpler plan for 
grading this type of response-question test than the one 
used by Courtis and avoids the confusion of minus scores. 
The Haggerty reading examinations for the intermediate 
and upper grades. Sigma 2, for the intermediate grades, 
is in preparation. Sigma 3, for the upper grades is now 
available. It consists of three tests. Test 1 is a vocabulary 
test, and Test 2 is a series of questions to be answered by 
" Yes " or " No." Both of these tests are very similar to 
exercises used in several of the intelligence tests. Test 3 
is a series of seven paragraphs increasing in difficulty. The 
pupils are given twenty minutes to read and indicate as many 
correct responses as possible. The types of response used 
will be made clear by reproducing the first unit of the test. 
The size of the type has been reduced. 



A carriage, drawn by four horses, dashed 'round the turn of the 
road. Within it, thrust partly out of the window, appeared the 
face of a little old man, with a skin as yellow as gold. He had a low 
forehead, small, sharp eyes puckered about with innumerable 
wrinkles, and very thin lips, which he made still thinner by press- 
ing them forcibly together. 

1. Underline the correct phrase: 

two mules 

The carriage was drawn by f an £ y eam 

four horses 

a gray mare 



246 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

2. Check the sentence which is true : 

a. — The carriage was slowly drawn around the turn. 

b. — The carriage was turned over as it rounded the turn. 

c. — The carriage was hurried violently around the turn. 

3. Check the false statements: 

a. — The man was large and bony. - 
b. — The man was middle-aged. 
c. — The man was little and old. 

The advantage of the type of response used by Haggerty, 
as well as the types used by Monroe and Burgess, in com- 
parison to written answers to questions, used by Thorndike- 
McCall, is that language-expression difficulties are elimi- 
nated. 

4. Vocabulary Tests 

One of the factors in silent reading accomplishment is at- 
tainment in a ready grasp of a meaning vocabulary. It is 
important that this element should be measured to deter- 
mine the relative efficiency of a class, a school, or a system 
of schools. It should also be considered in measuring the 
results of teaching methods and devices. Oftentimes an 
individual pupil in need of special diagnosis should be 
given a vocabulary test. Three vocabulary tests will be 
now discussed. 

The Thorndike Visual Vocabulary Scales. Thorndike 
has devised a visual vocabulary test issued in four forms. 
One of these forms is reproduced in reduced size in Fig. 20. 
In addition there is a preliminary test to be used first to 
make sure the pupils understand just what to do in taking 
the test. The manual of directions explains the administer- 
ing of the test, the calculation of the scores, and the inter- 
pretation of the scores. The following directions taken from 




Fig. 20. The Thorndike Visual Vocabulary Scale 

(Copyright, 1916-1920, by Teachers College, Columbia University,] 

New York.) 



248 READING TESTS 

the pamphlet of directions may be suggestive to teachers 
and supervisors of reading: 1 

It would be very foolish for any one to undertake to drill 
pupils upon the meanings of words in order to obtain a higher 
score on this test, especially to undertake to teach them the par- 
ticular words included in the Thorndike scales. Such a procedure 
would be equivalent to teaching a person who is going to be 
weighed, how to grasp the weighing machine and to exert the 
strength of his muscles to increase the pressure on the platform 
of the scales. The fact that one was able to exert greater pressure 
than his mere weight would not prove that he had increased his 
weight, any more than the teaching of pupils how to identify the 
words of these scales would prove that they had thereby increased 
their word-knowledge. 

A low score in the visual vocabulary scales may be the result of 
lack of experience in life, it may be the result of inadequate expla- 
nations of the experiences the child has had, or it maybe the result 
of some entirely different factors. The teacher of reading, or of 
arithmetic, or of geography may have assumed, without warrant, 
that the words of the textbook were understood by the pupils. 
In such a case, verbal memory may have enabled the pupil to 
make satisfactory responses to the questions asked in class, but 
may be entirely inadequate to enable him to identify the words 
when they appear on a scale such as the one here discussed. The 
purpose of these scales is to measure the results actually being 
obtained rather than to indicate anything at all about what 
causes these results or to improve them. 

Teachers who desire to check up the difficulty of the words 
appearing in the geography, arithmetic, history, or other textbooks 
used by their pupils may easily do so by making up a test blank in 
which every second word is from an appropriate difficulty level 
of the Thorndike scales, with the words from the textbook sand- 
wiched in between the words of known difficulty. Care should 
be taken in such a case to make certain that the textbook words 
are such as could be properly classified under one of the instruc- 
tions appearing at the top of the test sheet. The results should be 
tabulated on the form of scoring sheet shown on page 8. To prove 

1 Trabue, M. R., Director of the Bureau of Educational Service, Teach- 
ers College, Columbia University, Bulletin, Eleventh Series, No. 13. 
(February, 1920.) 



READING TESTS 249 

that the words of the textbook are not too difficult, the percentage 
of errors on the textbook words should be smaller than the per- 
centage of errors on the scale words, if the scale words were chosen 
from lines having the difficulty values corresponding to the stand- 
ard score of the grade as shown on page 15. 

The most common misunderstanding of the results of measure- 
ments of ability in reading, or in any other subject, is to assume 
that measuring the ability of a class or of a pupil will improve 
that ability. Measuring the height of a child does not make him 
taller, nor does measuring his word-knowledge increase his vocab- 
ulary. The supervisor or teacher who measures a child and finds 
him under weight and not as tall as he should be, may perhaps 
inform the pupil or his parents of the kind of food that would be 
most healthful and most likely to overcome the deficiency, but the 
measuring in itself will not increase either the height or the weight. 
It merely reveals more exactly the size of the pupil. Measuring 
word-knowledge reveals the size of the reading vocabulary in the 
same way. The teacher may know or discover the causes of the 
present size of vocabulary, and she may discover ways of increas- 
ing the vocabulary in the future, but the measurement itself 
should not be expected to enlarge that vocabulary. Measurement 
of results and the production of results are two distinct processes. 

The Holley Sentence Vocabulary Scale. The reproduc- 
tion in reduced size of the general instructions, and the first 
ten and the last ten units, in Fig. 21, will give the reader 
an adequate idea of the Holley Sentence Vocabulary Scale. 
The standards are in terms of mental age. This type of 
test is commonly used in intelligence tests, which are de- 
signed to measure the pupil's mental ability in mental-age 
units. 

The Pressey-Skeel group test for measuring reading 
vocabulary in the first grade. It was observed, in the dis- 
cussion of the Jones vocabulary test, that the amount of 
time consumed in giving an individual test limits its practi- 
cal use very greatly. The Pressey-Skeel first-grade vocabu- 
lary test is printed in primer type and may be given to a 
large group at one time. The nature of the test will be 






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252 READING TESTS 

made clear to the reader by giving an excerpt from the re- 
port of the authors: x 

The first five lines of Form A are as follows: 

tl mz the unf pr t 
wx I sn en w 
ol bux ts lz go 
see elx bim ts osn 
bul og he bu In 

The problem of the test is carefully developed through the first 
five lines which are used as examples; following these are the 
twenty-two lines of the test proper. The directions for Form A 
are to be given orally as follows: 

Look at the first line! Who can see a real word in that line? What is 
the word? Yes, "the." What part of the line is it in? Yes, right in the 
middle. I want you to draw a line around the word "the" because it is the 
only real word in the line. The other groups of letters don't make words. 
Draw a line around "the." 

Look at the next line! What is the real word? Yes, "I." Draw a line 
around "I" because it is the only real word in the line. 

Look at the next line! What is the real word? Yes, "go." Draw a line 
around "go." 

Look at the next line! What is the real word? Yes, "see." Draw a line 
around "see." 

Look at the next line! What is the real word? Yes, "he." Draw a line 
around "he." 

Now, every one attention! I want you to read over the rest of the lines 
on the page in the same way. In each line there is just one real word. You 
find the real word in each line, and then draw a line around it. 

The children are allowed exactly three minutes after the direc- 
tions are given for work on the test. In scoring, count only the 
lines in which the correct word, and nothing more, is marked; the 
score is simply this total of items correct. It should be added that 
any indication of the correct word — line around, line under, cross 
— is considered satisfactory; the child is not required to follow 
directions exactly, but only to show in some unmistakable way 
that he knows the word in question. 

1 Pressey, L. C, and Skeel, H. V. "A Group Test for Measuring Read- 
ing Vocabulary in the First Grade"; in the Elementary School Journal 
(December, 1920), vol. 21, pp. 304-09. 



READING TESTS 253 

The value of a group vocabulary test in the primary 
grades. The authors of the Pressey-Skeel test have found 
that the results have a rather high correlation with the 
results obtained in giving the same words as an oral test in 
pronunciation. To what extent the ability to distinguish 
real words from nonsense syllables correlates with ability 
to read is not known. However, since it is important in the 
first grade to develop a sight recognition vocabulary, it 
would appear that this type of test would be helpful in 
determining definitely the amount of progress a pupil has 
made with reference to the sight vocabulary. Further 
studies along this line will no doubt be made in the near 
future. 

An adequate equipment of reading tests. Caution should 
be given as to the danger of drawing conclusions from the 
results of one test, especially in the judging of any particu- 
lar pupil. If only one test can be given, probably the 
Monroe test is the best general measure of silent-reading 
ability. The following outline may be helpful to teachers 
and supervisory officers in selecting an equipment of read- 
ing tests: 

I. Group Tests 

1. Short time tests on amount done correctly 

a. Monroe. Reveals relation of rate and compre- 
hension 

b. Burgess. Scores reveal the amount done cor- 
rectly 

2. Long time difficulty tests 

a. Thorndike-McCall. Score reveals amount done 
correctly 

b. Haggerty. Reveals the amount done correctly 
(The only silent-reading test for the first and second 
grades. The upper-grade test includes a vocabu- 
lary test. Rather expensive) 

3. Tests in rapid narrative reading 

a. Courtis. Rate score in words per minute 



254 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

(Suitable for lower middle grades) 
(There is no suitable test for upper grades) 
4. Vocabulary tests 

a. Pressey-Skeel. For first grade 

b. Thorndike. Tests ability of pupils to identify 
words by similarity of classification 

c. Holley. Commonly used as one item in measur- 
ing intelligence 

II. Individual Tests 

1. Gray Oral-Reading Test. An excellent instrument to 
use with special cases 

2. Jones Vocabulary Test. Tests ability of pupils to pro- 
nounce primer words in lists. Good for testing a few 
pupils 

3. Haggerty. Similar to the Jones, but shorter 

4. Gray Silent-Reading Tests. Excellent for getting an 
accurate measure of rate on a certain type of material, 
with special cases 

5. How Results are improved through the Use of 

Tests 

A number of reports have been made and published 
showing how results in reading have been improved through 
the use of standardized tests. 1 By way of showing what 
may be accomplished, an account will be given here of the 
use of the Monroe tests in the school of which the writer is 
principal. 

Reading tests as used in one school. In May, 1919, 

*As good examples of such studies the following may be cited: Ober- 
holtzer, E. E. "Testing the Efficiency of Reading in the Grades"; in 
Elementary School Journal (February, 1915), vol. 15, pp. 313-22; Waldo, 
K. D. "Testing Reading in the Sycamore Schools"; in Elementary School 
Journal (January, 1915), vol. 15, pp. 251-68; Gray, William S. "The 
Use of Tests in Improving Instruction"; in Elementary School Journal 
(October, 1918), vol. 19, pp. 121-42; Waldman, Bessie. "Definite 
Improvement of Reading Ability in a Fourth-Grade Class"; in Elementary 
School Journal (December, 1920), vol. 21, pp. 273-80; Zirbes, Laura. 
"Diagnostic Measurement as a Basis of Procedure"; in Elementary School 
Journal (March, 1918), vol. 18, pp. 505-22. 



READING TESTS 255 

Form II of the Monroe tests was given to all pupils in the 
third grade and above, in the Gardenville School, in St. 
Louis. The results were tabulated and graphs were made, 
showing the relative standing of classes and grades in com- 
parison to the standards calculated by Monroe from the 
results of testing several thousand pupils in each grade. 
The standard represents the median score of the grade. 
The median is about the same as the average. The results 
by grades for this test may be seen at a glance by refer- 
ring to the graphs on page 256, Figure a shows that all 
the grades were above standard in rate. Figure b shows 
that all grades except the fourth were below standard in 
comprehension. The graphs also reveal that the higher 
grades were the highest above standard in rate, and the 
lowest below standard in comprehension. 

The results shown by the test were made the basis of 
a teachers' meeting. In discussing the reasons why the 
classes as a general rule were above standard in rate and 
below in comprehension, it was concluded that this was due 
to carelessness, working too rapidly, failure to check up 
or to verify answers, and to a lack of training in the type 
of comprehension involved. It was made clear that the 
problem of the school, especially above the fourth grade, 
was to work for accurate comprehension in reading and 
study under the stimulus of a time limit. During the last 
school year a number of meetings have been held for 
considering the reading problems. Two were given over 
to the problem of getting pupils to check up their answers 
in careful reading by verifying through re-reading as much 
as was necessary. Exercises for developing facility in quick, 
ready grasp of a fact or relationship expressed, and for 
developing the habit of checking up quickly and accurately, 
were formulated and used in the rooms. 

The test repeated a year later. Figures c and d show the 



256 



SILENT AND ORAL READING 



Rate 

133 
131 
129 
126 
123 
120 
117 
114 
111 
108 
105 
102 
99 
96 
93 



Fig. a May 1919 
'■* Test I Form 2 Test II 



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Form 2 May 1919- 



Fig, d 

Comprehension Form 3 Mayyl920 




VIII 



Fig. 22. Graphs for the Monroe Silent-Reading Test 

Comparing results in rate and comprehension. May, 1919, and May, 1920, 
Gardenville School, St. Louis, Missouri 



results of the Monroe tests in the same school and grades 
for May, 1920. As the content of this second test was 
new, there was no possibility of previous experience with 
the same exercises influencing the result. Figure c shows 
that the record of the school in rate in comparison to the 



READING TESTS 257 

standard is about the same as it was a year ago, but with a 
more marked improvement in the lower grades. All the 
grades are shown as being considerably above the standard. 

Figure d shows that all of the grades have made a better 
record in comprehension than was made in 1919. Compar- 
ing Figures b and d, we see that the seventh and eighth 
grades have a remarkably better record in the compre- 
hension test in 1920 than in 1919. Instead of being con- 
siderably below the standard, they are considerably above. 
The sixth grade is nearer to the standard, but still slightly 
below. The fifth grade has risen from a position below the 
standard to a position slightly above. The fourth grade is 
somewhat further above the standard than formerly. For 
the school there has been a remarkable gain in comprehen- 
sion, with no loss in rate except a slight one in the sixth 
grade. 

The question naturally arises as to why the sixth grade 
is the only one below the standard in comprehension. Its 
rate in relation to the standard is about the same as the 
fourth, the fifth, and the eighth grades, and slightly better 
than the seventh. The reading in the seventh and eighth 
grades for the preceding year was taught by one teacher in 
a departmental unit of four rooms. This teacher is one of 
exceptional training and ability. The other teachers of the 
unit have also given attention to the training of the pupils 
in reading material of their respective subjects. In the 
sixth grade the reading has not been departmentalized, and 
each of the sixth-grade classes has been taught for a part 
of the year by comparatively inexperienced teachers. 
These two facts probably partly explain why the sixth 
grade has a relatively lower standing than the seventh and 
eighth. But the same conditions apply to the fifth grade, 
which has made considerably more improvement than the 
sixth. In looking forward to the coming year's work, it is 



258 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

important that a study should be made of the record of the 
classes and of the individuals in the sixth grade, and that 
the teachers and principal confer as to the best means of 
strengthening this evident weakness. 

Conclusions from this study. Scientific-standardized 
reading tests should be given regularly toward the beginning, 
about the middle, and toward the close of the school year, 
and the results should be graphed and used by the principal 
and supervisor as a means of improving the efficiency of 
the supervision of the teaching of reading. The results of 
these tests may well be made the basis of group conferences 
of teachers, with a view to cooperative efforts to improve 
results. The individual teachers should make careful 
analysis of the showing of their classes on each particular 
test. Interpretation of the results should lead to improved 
plans for classifying and instructing the pupils in accord- 
ance with individual abilities, attainments, and needs. 
Teachers should learn to diagnose individual cases of weak- 
ness, and provide suitable remedial treatment. 

6. Tests with Material at Hand 
Testing neglected. While teachers as a rule give tests 
or examinations in such school subjects as arithmetic, 
geography, and history, in many instances they do not give 
tests on the comprehension of reading material. The 
Cleveland Survey * showed that the failures in reading in 
the first two grades were very much more numerous than 
the failures in arithmetic, but above the second grade the 
failures in arithmetic were very much more numerous than 
the failures in reading. The greatest differences in this 
respect were in the intermediate grades. The tests in 
reading and in arithmetic, given as a part of the Survey, 

1 Judd, Charles H. Measuring the Work of the Public Schools. 



READING TESTS 259 

proved that the intermediate grades had not succeeded 
better in reading than in arithmetic. No doubt the teachers 
had been checking up results in arithmetic in an objective 
form, but had not been checking up the results of the read- 
ing instruction. In addition to giving standardized tests 
two or three times a year, the pupils should be tested at 
least every five or six weeks with tests on rate and com- 
prehension in silent reading formulated by the teacher. 

It requires quite as much training and skill to give good 
tests or examinations as it does to do good teaching. One 
of the important results that should come from the use of 
scientific-standardized tests is the improvement of the tests 
and examinations given by the teacher. The writer does 
not believe that long-drawn-out, formal, set examinations 
are advisable in the grades, but he does believe that the 
results of teaching in all subjects should be checked up, 
in so far as is possible, in an objective form. As a matter of 
fact, pupils like tests of the right sort. Classroom tests in 
reading should be both pleasurable and profitable. By 
studying the theory and content, method and purpose of 
scientific tests, the teacher will be better able to make and 
give tests that will be more accurate in measuring results, 
and at the same time be much more acceptable to the 
pupils. 1 

An improvised second-grade silent-reading test. The 
following is a second-grade silent-reading test, which Miss 
Agnes Dunsford has formulated on a fable in one of the 
supplementary reading books, and which has been used 
with succeeding classes for several terms and has been in 
consequence developed into a fairly reliable standard. 

1 An excellent book for teachers to read, in this connection, is Monroe, 
W. S., Measuring the Results of Teaching. Houghton Mifflin Company, 
1913. 



260 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

The Ant and the Dove 

1. What happened to the ant? 

2. What did the ant do then? 

3. What did the dove throw down to the ant? 

4. What did the ant say? 

5. A few days later what was the dove doing? 

6. What was the man going to do to the dove? 

7. What did the ant do to the man? 

8. What did the man do then? 

9. What did the dove then do? 

10. What did the dove say to the ant? 

In applying this test the teacher tells the pupils to read 
the story through at their usual rate of reading without 
stopping to re-read or ask about words. They are told that 
they will be given a set of questions to answer. When the 
child completes the reading, he places his book in the desk 
and waits until all have finished. Then the pupils write the 
answers to questions given by the teacher. In this way the 
teacher gets a fair idea as to the rate at which the pupils 
read and observes their reading with reference to vocaliza- 
tion, lip-movement, finger pointing, etc. 

This teacher reports that this device has aided her in 
judging the silent-reading ability of her pupils more ac- 
curately. After the papers are graded, they are handed 
back to the pupils during a follow-up lesson on the fable. 
The pupils re-read it, and discuss the questions and answers. 
In this way the comprehension of the pupils is improved 
and the experiential value of the fable increased. 

Tests provided for in readers. Some of the newer read- 
ing texts are making a beginning in providing tests as a 
regular part of the reading instruction. The New Barnes 
Second Reader has twelve test lessons. Two of these les- 
sons are reproduced here to illustrate the two types of ele- 
ments in comprehension which they test. 



READING TESTS 261 

The Young Robin 
A young robin lived in an apple-tree near the door of a house. 
He wanted to go into the house and hop on the floor. 
"No, no!" said his mother, 
"You must stay with me. 
Little birds are safer 
Sitting in a tree." 
Young robin gave his tail a fling, and said, "I don't care." 
Then down he flew, and the cat caught him before he had time to 
wink. 

"Oh," he cried, "I'm sorry, 
But I didn't think." 

The following suggestions and directions from the 
Teacher's Manual show how to use such a story as a read- 
ing test: 

Rate of silent reading: Eighty per cent of the class will read the 
story silently in less than seventy-five seconds. A few pupils 
will finish in forty-five seconds or less, several may take longer 
than the indicated maximum. 

For this test the pupils should be supplied with pencils and paper. 

At a signal from the teacher, the pupils, having been directed 
to find the page, begin the reading together. 

The teacher will quietly note the rate of the most rapid readers 
and the slower ones. When all pupils have finished the reading, 
as indicated by closed books, the teacher proceeds to ask questions 
and directs the pupils to write the answers. Ample time must be 
allowed for writing the answers. 

Questions 

1. Write the name of the bird you have read about. 

2. Write the words that tell where he lived. 

3. Write the words that tell where he wanted to go. 

4. Write the first word his mother said to him about it. 

5. Write the three words the young robin answered. 

6. Write the words that tell what the young robin did then. 

7. Write the name of the animal that caught him. 

8. Write the sentence that tells why he did n't mind his mother. 
After the papers are collected, a few pupils will read the selection 

to the class. 



262 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

By keeping a record of the time required for each pupil to read 
the lesson silently, the teacher may obtain the average speed of her 
class in silent reading. 

By rating her class on the answers to the questions, she may 
obtain some idea of the ability of each child to interpret thought 
from silent reading. The score of the individual pupil as well as 
the class score may thus be obtained if the teacher desires either. 
These may be of value in noting the progress of the class from time 
to time in rapidity and accuracy. 

The questions, with the exception of the last one, it will 
be noted, are purely factual. The last question involves 
selective thinking, or reasoning. This would probably be a 
more difficult question than the others. No scheme of 
grading or scoring is given, as should be to make the plan 
complete. This lesson tests in a rough way the rate of 
reading, and tests principally the factual element in com- 
prehension. 

The second test lesson to be reproduced is as follows: 

Guess its Name 

I am thinking of something that is good to drink. We could 
not live without it. It has no taste. It has no color. We can 
see through it. 

It comes from the rivers and lakes. It comes from springs. 

We cook with it. It makes us sweet and clean. It keeps our 
houses sweet and clean. 

In winter we skate on it. Fish live in it. Insects like it. 
Nothing could live without it. 

Write its name. 

In this lesson rate is tested in the same way as in the 
preceding one. The comprehension of the essential total 
meaning of the unjt is tested. Such a selection is an excel- 
lent one for testing this element of comprehension. 

One other lesson of the same type is given entitled, 
" Guess What It Is." It tells about the nut. The other 



READING TESTS 263 

test lessons are similar to the first one, merely testing the 
comprehension of the facts. 

The Bolenius Readers tests. The Boys 9 and Girls* 
Readers, for the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades, by Emma 
Miller Bolenius, 1 provide regular tests in silent reading. 
The Teachers* Manual provides for the use of five selections 
in each book for testing. Detailed directions for giving the 
tests are stated. Five factual questions are listed for each 
test. The fable and the short tale is the type of unit used 
for test lessons. 

The following, from the Sixth Reader, is typical of the 
tests: 

The Foolish Brahmin 

1. What did the Brahmin want? (A sheep) 

2. Who had the dog? (Three rogues) 

3. Who bought the dog? (The Brahmin) 

4. What did he think it was? (A sheep) 

5. What did he pay for it? (A measure of rice and a pot 

of ghee) 

The following scheme for scoring is given in the Manual: 

All questions correct A 

One question wrong B 

Two questions wrong C 

Three questions wrong D 

Four questions wrong E 

Five questions wrong F 

Evaluation of the Bolenius tests. Tests like the above 

have the following advantages: 

1. The questions are clear and definite, and consequently 
do not admit of misinterpretations by pupils or teach- 
ers. 

2. There can be but one correct answer, permitting ac- 
curate, easy, and rapid scoring. 

1 Published by Houghton Mifflin Company, 1920. 



264 SILENT AND ORAL BEADING 

3. The questions are of about equal difficulty, and there- 
fore are adapted to a simple scoring plan. 

4. The scheme of rating the papers is simple, economical 
in time, and sufficiently accurate for classroom pur- 
poses. 

These readers have made a distinct step forward in help- 
ing teachers to check up results in silent reading. In each 
test a definite rate score in terms of the number of words 
read in a minute is secured. Rate standards are provided, 
and teachers are encouraged to have the pupils know how 
their rates compare with the standard for their grade. The 
Manual gives valuable suggestions on what we can learn 
from a test, on diagnosis and drill, on the spur of publicity 
of individual scores, on appealing to class pride, and on 
schemes for class charts. 

The tests are limited to one element in comprehension. 
The questions merely require a reproduction of a fact. 
There is no test of ability to do selective thinking, to reason, 
or to perceive relationships. There is no test of the pupil's 
ability to grasp the essential total meaning or effect of a 
unit. The comprehension of the organization of a unit is 
not tested. The author has done well to limit a particular 
test to one element of comprehension. The wide-awake 
teacher will no doubt devise tests for the other elements of 
comprehension. 

Difficulties in testing problematical thinking in reading. 
Comprehension of the factual element in reading is, of 
course, the easiest to test. The grasp of the essential total 
meaning or effect of a unit is the next in order of difficulty. 
Exercises from the Monroe tests, from the Haggerty- 
Noonan tests, and from the New Barnes Second Reader 
have been given to illustrate tests of this type. 

So far no tests have been devised to test the pupil's com- 
prehension of the organization of the unit. Exercises from 



READING TESTS 265 

the Thorndike Scale and from the Haggerty Reading Ex- 
amination, Sigma 3, have been given to show how to test 
the pupil's ability to do selective thinking, or reasoning, in 
answering a problem question. Testing this element in 
comprehension is much more difficult than testing mere 
knowledge of specific facts. The difficulties which teach- 
ers seem to have in testing problematic thinking in silent 
reading may be summarized as follows: 

1. To word problem questions or exercises so that they 
admit of only one interpretation. 

2. To secure a wording so the question can be answered 
correctly only by responding with a certain idea or 
thought. 

3. To secure a number of problems within the average 
ability of the class, not too difficult and not too easy. 

4. To avoid using the question requiring for the answer 
a choice between two alternatives unless all the ques- 
tions are of this type, and a special method of calcu- 
lating the index of comprehension is used. 

5. To select a unit suitable to a relational-comprehension 
test. 

I. A fourth-grade silent-reading test 
The above principles will be made more concrete by 
applying them in a critical evaluation of the following re- 
lational comprehension test, used by one of the best teach- 
ers the writer has ever known, and based on the story of 
" The Emperor's New Clothes," by Hans Christian Ander- 
sen, in The Riverside Fourth Reader. The story reads as 
follows: 

The Emperor's New Clothes 
Many years ago there lived an Emperor, who thought so very 
much of grand new clothes that he spent all his money upon them, 
that he might be very fine. He did not care about his soldiers; 



266 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

he did not care to see the play, or to drive in the woods, except to 
show his new clothes. He had a coat for every hour of the day; 
and just as they say of a king, "He is in council," so they always 
said of him, "The Emperor is in the clothes-closet." 

In the great city in which he lived it was always very merry. 
Every day came many strangers. One day two rogues came. 
They gave themselves out as weavers, and said they knew how to 
weave the finest stuff any one could fancy. Not only were their 
colors and patterns, they said, very beautiful, but the clothes made 
of the stuff had this wonderful quality — they could not be seen 
by any one who was unfit for the office he held, or was too stupid 
for anything. 

"Those would be capital clothes!" thought the Emperor, 
"If I wore those, I should be able to find out what men in my 
empire were not fit for the places they have; I could tell the clever 
from the dunces. Yes, the stuff must be woven for me at once!" 
And he gave the two rogues a great deal of cash in hand, that they 
might begin their work without delay. 

As for them, they put up two looms, and made as if they were 
working; but they had nothing at all on their looms. They at once 
called for the finest silk and the costliest gold. This they put into 
their own pockets, and worked at the empty looms till late into 
the night. 

"I should like to know how far they have got on with the stuff," 
thought the Emperor. But he felt quite uneasy when he thought 
that one who was stupid or not fit for his office could not see it. 
He believed, indeed, that he had nothing to fear for himself; 
still, he thought he had better first send some one else to see how 
matters stood. All the people in the city knew what peculiar 
power the stuff had, and all were anxious to see how bad or how 
stupid their neighbors were. 

"I will send my honest old Minister to. the weavers," thought 
the Emperor. "He can judge best how the stuff looks; for he has 
sense, and no one knows his place better than he." 

Now the good old Minister went out into the hall where the two 
rogues sat working at the empty looms. 

"Mercy on us!" thought the old Minister, and he opened his 
eyes wide. "I cannot see anything at all!" But he did not say 
this. 

Both the rogues begged him to come nearer, and asked if the 
colors and the patterns were not pretty. Then they pointed to 



READING TESTS 267 

the empty loom, and the poor old Minister went on opening his 
eyes; but he could see nothing, for there was nothing. 

"Mercy!" thought he, "suppose I am really stupid! I never 
thought that, and not a soul must know it. Suppose I am not 
fit for my office! No, it will never do for me to tell that I could not 
see the stuff." 

"You don't say anything of it? " said one, as he went on weaving. 

"Oh, it is charming — quite enchanting!" said the old Minister, 
as he peered through his glasses. " What a fine pattern, and what 
colors ! Yes, I shall tell the Emperor that I am very much pleased 
with it." 

"Well, we are glad of that," said both the weavers; and then 
they named the colors, and explained the strange pattern. The 
old Minister listened closely, that he might be able to repeat it 
when he should come to the Emperor. And he did so. 

Now the rogues asked for more money, and silk and gold; they 
wanted it all for weaving. They put all into their own pockets, 
and not a thread was put upon the loom; but they kept on as 
before, and wove at the empty loom. 

The Emperor soon sent another honest officer of the court to 
see how the weaving was going on, and if the stuff would soon be 
ready. He fared just like the first: he looked and looked; but, 
as there was nothing to be seen but the empty looms, he could 
see nothing. 

"Is not that a pretty piece of stuff?" asked the two rogues; 
and they showed and made clear the handsome pattern which 
was not there at all. 

"I am not stupid! " thought the man; "it must be my good office, 
for which I am not fit. That would be queer enough, but I must 
not let it be noticed." And so he praised the stuff which he did 
not see, and said how pleased he was with the beautiful colors 
and the charming pattern. "Yes, it is enchanting," he told the 
Emperor. 

All the people in the town talked of the gorgeous stuff. 

Now, the Emperor wished to see it himself while it was still 
upon the loom. With a whole crowd of chosen men, among whom 
were also the two honest statesmen who had already been there, 
he went to the two cunning rogues, who were weaving with might 
and main, without fiber or thread. 

"Is not that splendid?" said the two honest statesmen. "Does 
Your Majesty see what a pattern it has and what colors?" And 



268 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

then they pointed to the empty loom, for they thought that the 
others could see the stuff. 

"What's this?" thought the Emperor. "I can see nothing at 
all! This is terrible. Am I stupid? Am I not fit to be Emperor? 
That would be the most dreadful thing that could happen to me. 

"Oh, it is very pretty," he said aloud. "It has my highest 
approval." And he nodded in a contented way, and gazed at the 
empty loom; for he would not say that he saw nothing. 

The whole crowd that he had with him looked and looked, but 
they got nothing more out of it than all the rest; but, like the 
Emperor, they said, "Oh, that is very pretty!" and they begged 
him to have some clothes made of this new, pretty stuff, and to 
wear them for the first time in the great procession that was soon 
to take place. "It is splendid, excellent!" went from mouth to 
mouth, and they all were like one person in the way they talked. 

The Emperor gave each of the rogues a ribbon to wear in 
his buttonhole, and gave them the title of Imperial Court 
Weavers. 

The whole night before the morning on which the procession 
was to take place, the rogues were up and kept more than sixteen 
candles burning. The people could see that they were hard at 
work upon the Emperor's new clothes. They made believe take 
the stuff down from the loom; they made cuts in the air with great 
shears; they sewed with needles without thread; and at last they 
said: 

"Now the clothes are ready!" 

The Emperor came himself with his noblest cavaliers; and the 
two rogues lifted up one arm as if they were holding something, 
and said: 

' ' See, here are the trousers ! Here is the coat ! Here is the cape ! ' ' 
and so on. "It is as light as a spider's web: one would think one 
had nothing on; but that is just the beauty of it." 

"Yes," said all the cavaliers; but they could not see anything, 
for there was nothing. 

"Will Your Imperial Majesty be so good as to take off your 
clothes?" said the rogues; "then we will put on you the new 
clothes, here, in front of the great mirror." 

The Emperor took off his clothes, and the rogues pretended to 
put on him each new robe, as it was ready. They wrapped him 
about, and they tied and they buttoned, and they worked hard, 
and the Emperor turned round and round before the mirror. 



READING TESTS 269 

"Oh, how well they look! how nicely they fit!" said all. "What 
a pattern! What colors! That is a splendid dress!" 

"They are standing outside with the canopy which is to be 
borne above Your Majesty in the procession!" said the Head 
Master of the Ceremonies. 

"Well, I am ready," replied the Emperor. "Does it not suit 
me well?" And then he turned again to the mirror, for he wanted 
it to look as if he saw all his finery. 

The chamberlains, who were to carry the train, stooped down 
with their hands toward the floor, just as if they were picking up 
the train; then they held it up in the air. They did not dare to 
let it be seen that they could see nothing. 

So the Emperor went in procession under the rich canopy, and 
all the people in the streets and at the windows said : 

"How fine the Emperor's new clothes are! What a train he 
has to his mantle! How well it fits him! " No one would let it be 
seen that he could see nothing, for that would have shown that 
he was not fit for his office, or was very stupid. No clothes of 
the Emperor's had ever had such a success as these. 

"But he has nothing on!" said a little child. 

"Mercy on us! Just hear that innocent voice!" said his father; 
and one whispered to another what the child had said. 

"He has nothing on; there's a little child here says he has 
nothing on." 

"That's so! He has nothing on!" said the whole people at last. 

That touched the Emperor, for it seemed to him that they were 
right; but he thought within himself, "I must go through with the 
procession." And so he held himself a little higher, and the 
chamberlains marched and carried the train, but there was no 
train. 

Questions and answers. On this story the following 
questions were asked, and the type of answers accepted is 
shown opposite. 

Questions Approximate Answers accepted 

1 by the Teacher 

Par. 1. Why would n't the Thought too much about his 
Emperor be prepared to meet clothes, 
trouble? 



270 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

2 

Par. 2. How were the officers Unfit for office or stupid. 

likely to lose their positions? If they could n't see the colors. 

If they didn't see what the 
rogues were weaving. 

o 

Par. 3. In what way did the He could tell who were stupid 
Emperor think the clothes or unfit for work, 
would assist him? To see what men of his were fit 

for office. 
4 

Par. 4. How did the rogues de- Asked all the time for gold and 
ceive the king? put it in their pockets. 

5 
Par. 5. Why was the king He was afraid he was not fit for 
afraid to ask to see the goods office. 

himself? He might not be fit to be Em- 

peror. 

6 

Par. 6. Why was the old Min- He could judge the best and 
ister the first one chosen to see was honest, 
the weaving? He was honest and had sense. 

He was an honest man. 
7 

Par. 10. What two questions Am I stupid? and, Am I not fit 
did the Minister ask himself? for office? 

8 
Par. 10. Why did the Minister Because he was afraid to say 
say he was pleased with the there was n't anything, 
pattern? If he said no, he would not be fit 

for his office. 

9 

Par. 12. Why was the Minister Because he had to tell it to the 

able to describe the color and king. 

pattern to the Emperor? Because he would say the same 

thing the weavers said. 

Because he listened to them. 
10 

Who was the only honest one in The child, 
the story? 



READING TESTS 271 

Criticism of the test and questions. The following com- 
ments on the above questions seem fair, and may be helpful 
to teachers in the formulation of test questions on other 
selections: 

Question 1. This is a good question for the purpose of the test 
because it is clear and definite, requires reasoning, because teach- 
ers would not be likely to disagree as to the correct answer, and 
because it is of the proper difficulty. The answers do not show 
that the question was misinterpreted. Eight pupils gave correct 
answers, and nine incorrect ones. 

Question 2. This is a poor question, because it is not closely 
enough related to the content of the paragraph, because teachers 
would disagree upon the interpretation of the question, and 
because there are too many possibly correct answers. Consider- 
ing only the last objection, we find that only five out of the seven- 
teen answers were counted as right. 

Question 3. This question tests the pupil's perception of rela- 
tionships, and can be answered only by giving one particular 
reason. Only three out of seventeen gave the incorrect answer. 
If worded in such a way as to make it slightly more difficult, it 
would be an excellent question. 

Question If.. The answers of the pupils and the grading of the 
teacher show that this question involves a too complicated answer, 
if strictly graded, and that teachers are likely to disagree as to 
what would be an acceptable answer. Statements to the effect 
that looms were put up and that the rogues made as though they 
were weaving were counted wrong, while statements to the effect 
that they kept calling for more silk and gold and keeping it for 
themselves were accepted as correct. Probably both ideas are 
required for an adequate answer. The question does not call for a 
sufficiently definite and short answer. 

Question 5. The answers show this to be a very good question. 
There were seven correct answers, and ten that were counted 
wrong. 

Question 6. There are three ideas involved in this: he was 
honest, he had sense, and he was best able to judge. The teacher 
accepted the first as a correct answer, but did not accept either 
of the others unless the first was given also. There would prob- 
ably be disagreement about what should be accepted as a correct 
answer. The question should be made more definite. 



272 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

Question 7. This question calls for a mere reproduction of 
what was stated, and consequently does not involve relational 
comprehension. 

Question 8. The wording of this question makes it too difficult, 
as is shown by the fact that only three out of the seventeen gave 
an acceptable answer. The idea involved is an excellent one. 
The question should be made more specific. Wherever possible 
substitute a more definite expression for "why." 

Question 9. This question has the same weakness as the eighth. 

Question 10. The answer to this question is not specifically 
stated in the reading. Therefore it involves selective thinking. 
Twelve gave correct answers, and five wrong ones. 

A better test by the same teacher on the same selection. 
The following is a test formulated by the same teacher, after 
reading the preceding criticisms and after becoming familiar 
with the devices used in scientifically devised tests: 

The Emperor's New Clothes 

1. Indicate one reason why the Emperor would not be pre- 
pared to meet trouble. 

1. Because he did n't have an army 

2. " " was a coward 

3. " " his soldiers didn't drill 

4. " thought only of his clothes 

5. " " was too old to fight 

2. What was peculiar or unusual about the cloth? 

3. Indicate the reason that tells why the Emperor was inter- 
ested in the cloth. 

1. Because he wanted to look handsome 

2. " thought it was beautiful 

3. " always thinking of clothes 

4. it would tell him who was fit for office 

5. " " was cheap 

4. Indicate the one word below that tells the material the 
rogues used on the looms to weave this wonderful cloth. 

silk gold cotton nothing thread 

5. Indicate the one reason below which tells why the Emperor 
was afraid to see the cloth himself. 



READING TESTS 273 

1. Because he thought the rogues would hurt him 

2. " " was too feeble 

3. " " knew the rogues were magicians 

4. " it might prove he was stupid 

5. " " would blind him 

6. Select and underline one of the following as a reason for 
sending the Minister to see the cloth. 

The Minister was: old industrious sensible kind 

7. Of what two things was the Minister afraid? 

1. That he was going blind 

2. " M " growing old 

3. " " " stupid 

4. " " " unfit for office 

5. " the rogues were not honest 

8. Indicate the reason which tells why the Minister could 
describe the pattern and colors so well. 

1. Because he had seen it before 

2. " " " helped to weave it 
"3. " - " " listened closely 

4. " wrote it on paper | 

9. Where did the rogues put the gold and silk that was given 
them? 

on the looms in a chest in their pockets in the palace 
10. Underline the word which tells who was the only honest one 
in the story 

emperor minister child rogues officers 

Score values of questions in reading tests. In the usual 
classroom examinations, the plan commonly followed in 
grading is to give each question the same weight or value. 
In treatises on scientific educational measurement, this plan 
has been criticized on the basis that the questions in such 
an examination are not of equal difficulty, and therefore 
should not be given equal weight in grading or scoring. 
In the construction of many scientifically made tests, the 
authors either selected units of equal difficulty or assigned 
values to the different units according to the difficulty of 
the unit. The method of calculating the degree of diffi- 



274 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

culty and the value to be assigned to each unit on the basis 
of its difficulty is somewhat complicated. l 

Tests that have different score values for the different 
units require more of the teacher's time in totaling the scores 
than do tests that assign the same value to each unit. If 
each exercise is given a value of one and the pupil's response 
counted right or wrong, there is much less likelihood of 
error in scoring and totaling the score. In the typical old- 
fashioned classroom examination, where no effort was made 
to see that the different questions were equal in difficulty 
or in time required in answering, it is evident that we have 
a very poor measuring instrument. But the more recent 
studies go to show that, in a set of ten or more questions or 
exercises formulated with a view of having them approxi- 
mately equal in difficulty and in time required for answer- 
ing, the units may be assigned equal score values without 
impairing the accuracy of the measuring instrument to any 
appreciable extent. 

A teacher can refine her test in the following manner: 
After the test has beer used with two or three classes, 
determine the number of times each question has been 
missed. In case the results show that a particular question 
is too easy or too difficult in comparison to the other 
questions, eliminate it, change it, or substitute another 
question that will be more likely to fill the requirements. 

II. A fifth-grade silent-reading test of both rate and 
comprehension 
For this test the following selection from The Riverside 
Fifth Reader was used: 

The Magic Mask 
There was once a great and powerful prince. He had hundreds 
of soldiers in his army, and with their help he had conquered vast 

x Rugg, H. O. Statistical Methods Applied to Education, pp. 219-22. 
JJoughton Mifflin Company, 1917. 



READING TESTS 275 

strips of country, over which he ruled. He was wise as well as 
brave; but, though all men feared his iron will and respected his 
strong purpose, no one loved him. As he grew older, he became 
lonely and unhappy; and this made him sterner and colder, and 
more severe than ever. The lines about his mouth were hard and 
grim, there was a deep frown on his forehead, and his lips rarely 
smiled. (98) 

Now it happened that in one of the cities over which he had 
come to rule was a beautiful princess whom he wished to have for 
his wife. He had watched her for many months as she went about 
among the people, and he knew that she was as good and kind as 
she was beautiful. But, because he always wore his armor and 
his heavy helmet when he rode through his dominions, she had 
never seen his face. (177) 

The day came when he made up his mind that he would ask the 
lovely princess to come and live in his palace. He put on his royal 
robes and his golden coronet; but, when he looked at his reflection 
in the glass, he could see nothing but what w T ould cause fear and 
dislike. His face looked hard and cruel and stern. He tried to 
smile; but it seemed an unnatural effort, and he quickly gave it up. 
Then a happy notion came to him. Sending for the court magi- 
cian, he said to him: (271) 

"Make for me a mask of the thinnest wax so that it will follow 
every line of my features, but paint it with your magic paints so 
that it will look kind and pleasant instead of fierce and stern. 
Fasten it upon my face so that I shall never have to take it off. 
Make it as handsome and attractive as your skill can suggest, and 
I will pay for it any price you choose to ask." (348) 

"This I can do," said the court magician, "on one condition 
only. You must keep your own face in the same lines that I shall 
paint, or the mask will be ruined. One angry frown, one cruel 
smile will crack the mask and ruin it forever; nor can I replace it. 
Will you agree to this? " (404) 

The prince had a strong will, and never in his life had he wanted 
anything so much as he now wanted the princess for his wife. (430) 

"Yes," he said, "I agree. Tell me how I may keep the mask 
from cracking . ' ' (445) 

"You must train yourself to think kindly thoughts," said the 
magician, "and, to do this, you must do kindly deeds. You must 
try to make your kingdom happy rather than great. Whenever 
you are angry, keep absolutely still until the feeling has gone away. 



276 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

Try to think of ways to make your subjects happier and better. 
Build schools instead of forts, and hospitals instead of battleships. 
Be gracious and courteous to all men." (518) 

So the wonderful mask was made; and when the prince put it on, 
no one would have guessed that it was not his true face. The 
lovely princess, indeed, could find no fault with it, and she came 
willingly to be his bride in his splendid palace. (565) 

The months went on; and, though at first the magic mask was 
often in danger of being destroyed, the prince had been as good as 
his word, and no one had ever discovered that it was false. His 
subjects, it is true, wondered at his new gentleness and thought- 
fulness; but they said, "It is the princess who has made him like 
herself." (627) 

The prince, however, was not quite happy. When the princess 
smiled her approval of his forbearance and goodness, he used to 
wish that he had never deceived her with the magic mask. At 
last he could bear it no longer, and, summoning the magician, he 
bade him remove the false face. (678) 

"If I do, Your Royal Highness," protested the magician, "I can 
never make another. You must wear your own face as long as 
you live." (703) 

"Better so," cried the prince, "than to deceive one whose love 
and trust I value so greatly. Better even that she should despise 
me than that I should go on doing what is unworthy for her sake." 
(740) 

Then the magician took off the mask, and the prince in fear and 
anguish of heart sought his reflection in the glass. As he looked, 
his eyes brightened and his lips curved into a radiant smile; for 
the ugly lines were gone, the frown had disappeared, and his face 
was moulded in the exact likeness of the mask he had worn so 
long. And, when he came into the presence of his wife, she saw 
only the familiar features of the prince she loved. (824) 

Measuring the rate. At the end of two minutes a signal 
was given. At this each pupil marked the last word read, 
and then continued to complete the reading of the story. 
After finishing, each pupil put his book in the desk and 
waited until all had finished. Later, after the comprehen- 
sion test had been tried, each pupil determined the number 
of words read by the aid of the numbers entered at the 



READING TESTS 277 

end of each paragraph, and divided by two to get the num- 
ber of words per minute. This number constituted the 
rate score. 

Measuring the comprehension. For this a set of ques- 
tions was formulated and tried with one class. A revised 
form was tried with another class in an effort to get a set 
of questions of about equal difficulty. A third form, which 
follows, was given to a room of forty pupils, and the value 
assigned to each question was approximately according to 
the difficulty of the questions. 

Comprehension questions on " The Magic Mask." The 
numbers in parentheses following each question are the 
values finally determined upon for the question, the total 
of values for the paper being 100. 

The Magic Mask 

1. Underline the one word below which best describes the face 
of the prince at the beginning of the story. (5) 

Good beautiful cruel sad serious kind 

2. Underline the one reason below which tells why the prince 
did not want the princess to see his face. (5) 

(a) Because he wanted to hide his face 

(b) Because he was afraid she would not marry him 

(c) Because the princess was rich and powerful 

(d) Because the prince was shy and timid 

S. Mention one thing the magician told the prince not to do to 
keep from ruining the mask. (15) 

The prince was told not to ■ ■ 

4. Mention one thing the prince was told to do to keep the mask 
from cracking. (15) 

He was told to 

5. Write two words used in the story to describe the princess. 

(a)- (5) (b) (10) 

6. Underline the one reason below that tells why the prince 
was not quite happy. (5) 

(a) Because he deceived the princess by wearing the mask 
(6) Because he had the mask taken off 



278 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

(c) Because the princess was popular with the people 

(d) Because he was rich and powerful 

7. Whom did the people think had caused the great change in 
the prince? (10) — — 

8. Because he was not quite happy, what did he have the 
magician do in regard to the mask? (5) 

9. Underline the one of the words below which describes the 
face of the prince at the close of the story. (15) 

cruel good kind sad serious beautiful 
10. Underline the one reason below which explains why the mask 
is called the magic mask. (10) 

(a) Because it had a winning face 

(b) Because no one could see the mask on the prince 

(c) Because it was a false face 

(d) Because the mask did not break 

Summary of conclusions regarding testing in reading. 
From our study the following conclusions seem to be 
warranted: 

1. Attainment in silent reading has not been checked up 
in an objective way as it should be. Occasional tests 
of rate and comprehension, devised by the teacher, 
should be given. 

2. The usual classroom tests or examinations are seri- 
ously inaccurate as measurements of ability and attain- 
ment, (a) because teachers differ widely in grading the 
same set of papers, and (b) because the plan of assign- 
ing equal values to questions that vary widely in 
difficulty gives an inaccurate measure. 

8. Classroom tests4n comprehension may be improved, 
(a) by a clearer wording of questions; and (b) by 
using some of the types of responses used in scientific 
tests, such as checking one of a number of listed 
answers, placing a line or cross correctly on a drawing; 
(c) by using questions upon which there will be a 
minimum of disagreement in grading; and (d) by 
considering answers wholly right or wholly wrong. 



READING TESTS 279 

4. A more accurate grading or scoring will be secured, 
(a) by having all the questions of equal difficulty, or 
(6) by assigning values to the questions according to 
difficulty. 

5. It is sometimes better to separate the tests upon 
different phases of comprehension, such as the knowl- 
edge of the facts, the understanding of the rational 
relationships expressed, and the grasp of the central 
idea or the essential total meaning or effect. 

6. Rate should be tested in terms of the number of words 
read per minute. Pupils should compare their rates 
with standard rates, and note progress from time to 
time. Rate tests should always be followed by some 
definite check on comprehension, to ensure that the 
pupils really do the reading reported. 



7. Use of Reading Tests in Rural Schools 

Standardized reading tests may be very economically 
used in rural schools, because all but the youngest pupils 
may be tested at the same time. The small number of 
pupils in a class makes it possible for the teacher to examine 
carefully the individual results for evidences of weaknesses. 
There is more opportunity for remedial treatment in ac- 
cordance with individual needs. There is excellent op- 
portunity in the one- or two-room school for grouping 
pupils, according to results shown by the tests, for train- 
ing exercises in silent reading. The administrative problem 
of permitting a fifth-grade excellent reader to be grouped 
with eighth-grade readers of equal reading ability is easier 
in a rural school than in a graded school with one or more 
rooms for each grade. 

But little work has as yet been done in measuring results 
in our rural schools. In so far as studies have been made, 



280 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

it is very evident that rural schools are more in need of the 
teaching and testing of silent reading than are city schools. 
The following is a summary of conclusions drawn from a 
study in silent reading in the rural schools of Santa Clara 
County, California, made by Richard Zeidler, 1 and may be 
taken as typical of conditions which a more general use of 
standardized tests would in all probability reveal. Mr. 
Zeidler draws the following conclusions from his study: 

1. The rural schools of this county fall below the standardized 
scores in reading, especially in the lower grades. 

2. The rural schools in the county compare favorably with the 
city schools of San Jose in the rate of reading, but both fall 
below the standard. 

3. The rural schools of the county fall below the San Jose 
schools in the number of points reproduced from the material 
read. 

4. A great variation of ability is shown between individual 
pupils in every class and grade. 

5. Progress from grade to grade is irregular, and even a very 
noticeable retardation occurs from the seventh to the eighth 
grade. 

6. The one- and two-teacher schools do inferior work in read- 
ing, as compared with the larger schools, which are better 
organized. 

FACTUAL QUESTIONS 

1. Name the two elements measured by the Gray Oral-Reading Test. 

2. Name four points to keep in mind in selecting a silent-reading test. 
S. Name two vocabulary tests. 

4. Name four group silent-reading tests discussed in this chapter. 

5. Name a silent-reading test that measures rate of reading of the more 
rapid type. 

6. Name two silent-reading tests that do not measure rate. 

7. What does the Jones test measure? 

8. What does the Thorndike Vocabulary Test measure? 

9. Enumerate three difficulties that teachers have in framing questions 
for testing comprehension, other than mere factual comprehension. 

1 Zeidler, Richard. " Tests in Silent Reading in the Rural Schools 
of Santa Clara County, California"; in Elementary School Journal (Sep- 
tember, 1916), vol. 17, pp. 55-62. 



READING TESTS 281 

PROBLEMS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. There are twenty points in the above set of questions. Give yourself 
a test, crediting 5 per cent for each point correct. 

2. Why is rate an important factor in testing oral reading? 

3. What reason might be advanced against using the Gray Oral-Read- 
ing Test regularly for classroom testing? 

4. Devise a simple plan for a classroom test of oral reading that will be 
economical in time expenditure, fairly accurate, and that would 
provide data for follow-up remedial work. 

5. What value do you place upon testing the ability to get the meaning 
from listening to oral reading? 

6. Criticize the questions for the Gray Silent-Reading Test. 

7. What are the two essential differences between the Monroe and the 
Courtis tests? 

8. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the Burgess test. 

9. Give an adverse criticism on the Monroe test. On the Courtis test. 
On the Thorndike-McCall test. On the Haggerty-Noonan test. 
On the Burgess test. 

10. What is the essential difference between the Jones Vocabulary Test 
and the Thorndike Vocabulary Test? 

11. Report upon the advantages you have noted in the use of standard- 
ized reading tests in your classroom or school. 

12. In what respect is the Monroe test superior to the Courtis test as a 
measure of comprehension? 

13. Discuss essential differences between scientific tests and the usual 
type of examination. 

14. Is it possible to modify the usual type of classroom examination to 
conform more nearly to scientific tests? How? What are the chief 
difficulties in doing this? 4 

15. Do you think the use of a story for testing purposes, such as "The 
Magic Mask," will be likely to be a hindrance to the child's apprecia- 
tion of the story? 

16. Of the group silent-reading tests discussed, which one is best adapted 
for use in a one-room rural school? Why? 

Note: Since this chapter was written the author and Miss Lucile C. 
Murphy have devised a series of Narrative-Reading Scales for the middle 
and upper grades, which are published by the Public School Publishing 
Company, Bloomington, Illinois. 



CHAPTER X 

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES, AND SPECIAL INDIVIDUAL 
AND GROUP INSTRUCTION 

Individual differences in reading ability. The use of 
scientific tests, especially in connection with school sur- 
veys, has directed the attention of educators to the very 
great individual differences in reading ability within a 
grade or a class. In a very interesting and important vol- 
ume on reading, Dr. Judd makes the following interest- 
ing observation x as to the individual differences in reading 
ability which recent studies have revealed: 

There are many pupils who are forward in their reading. In 
the second and third grades they show a power of comprehen- 
sion and a rate which compare with those of many an upper- 
grade pupil. 

1. Individual Differences among Sixth- Grade Pupils 

A study of variability. The large variability to be found 
in almost any intermediate-grade class is clearly illustrated 
by the accompanying table (Table iv; see page 283), which 
shows the results of a test of the pupils of four sixth-grade 
classes, a total of eighty pupils. 

What these tables show. The table for rate should be 
read as follows: In the sixth-grade first-quarter class, 1 
pupil was in the 140-149 rate-group; in the second-quarter 
class, 1 pupil; in the third-quarter class, 9 pupils; and in the 
fourth-quarter class, 1 pupil — malgng a total of 12. Read- 

1 Judd, Charles H. Reading. Its Nature and Development. Chapter vin 
deals with the problem of individual differences. 



INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND INSTRUCTION 283 

Tajble IV. Showing Records of Four Sixth-Grade Classes 
on the Monroe Silent-Reading Tests, May, 1920 



No. pupils 


No. pupils 


Standard 




Quarter 




s 






Standard 


Medians 




~* 


»e 


Quarter 


-^ 


Medians 


Oct., 1920 


Rate 




"8 


y 
1 




1 


Oct., 1920 


Grade 


Rate 


1 


2 


3 


4 


1 


2 


3 


4 


Score Grade 






110-149 


1 


1 


9 


1 


12 


45-49 








1 


1 


2 




VIII 


133 


130-139 

















40-44 



















VII 


130 


120-129 


4 


1 


1 


3 


9 


35-39 








2 


1 


3 




VI 


116 


110-119 


1 


2 


5 


4 


12 


30-34 


1 











1 


28.2 VIII 






100-109 


7 


3 


4 


4 


18 


25-29 


2 


4 


3 


1 


10 


26.0 VII 


V 


9S 


90-99 


1 


3 


2 


3 


9 


20-24 


5 


4 


8 


G 


23 


18.1 VI 






80-89 


4 


3 


3 


3 


13 


15-19 


7 


3 


6 


6 


22 


17.2 V 


IV 


77 


70-79 


2 








1 


3 


10-14 


5 


2 


3 


3 


13 


13.3 IV 


III 


63 


60-69 


1 


2 





1 


4 


5-9 


1 


2 


1 


2 


6 


8.3 III 






Total |21 


15 


24 


20 


80 


Total 


21 


15 


24 


20 


80 





ing down the column on rate we see that for the 60-69 group 
there was 1 first-quarter pupil, 2 second-quarter pupils, and 
1 fourth-quarter pupil. Likewise, in the table for compre- 
hension, in the 25-29 group there are 2 first-quarter pu- 
pils, 4 second-quarter pupils, 3 third-quarter pupils, and 1 
fourth-quarter pupil. Studying the individual classes, we 
note that the pupils of the first quarter range from 140 to 
60 in rate, and from 30 to 5 in comprehension. 

The tables show a wide variability in attainment in both 
rate and comprehension in each of the four classes. The 
fourth-quarter class has the widest variation, considering 
both rate and comprehension. These four classes represent 
the pupils of two rooms. They constitute the complete 
sixth grade of the school. It will be noted that the attain- 
ment in rate ranges from third-grade attainment to above 
eighth-grade attainment. The comprehension ranges from 



284 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

third-grade attainment to an attainment very much above 
eighth-grade attainment. 

The question naturally arises as to what variability 
would be found within this group of eighty sixth-grade 
pupils, considering both rate and accuracy of comprehen- 
sion. In about an hour's time the writer examined these 
eighty papers, and made the following grouping: 

Group Number 

of pupils 
Rapid and Accurate 

(Rate, 113-140; Accuracy, 75-100 per cent) 8 

Rapid and Inaccurate 

(Rate, 113-140; Accuracy, 60 per cent or below) 18 

Medium in Rate, or Comprehension, or in both 36 

Slow and Accurate 

(Rate, 0-80; Accuracy, 75-100 per cent) 8 

Slow and Inaccurate 

(Rate, 0-80; Accuracy, 60 per cent or below) 10 

Special classification for reading. In so far as one can 
judge from the data of one test, it is apparent that the 
pupils in this grade are in need of widely different methods 
of treatment in so far as this type of reading ability is in- 
volved. No doubt a great deal more could be accom- 
plished in a month's time, in improving the rate and ac- 
curacy in reading of the pupils of this grade, by a special 
regrouping of the pupils than could be accomplished in the 
same time by maintaining the regular classification. Of 
course, additional data, including the teacher's judgment of 
the pupil, should be taken into consideration in making 
such a special reclassification. But, presuming the above 
grouping to be approximately correct for the type of reading 
represented in the Monroe test, the two teachers could re- 
group the pupils according to the above scheme and differ- 
entiate the content and the method of the reading to their 
great advantage. The group of eight very superior read- 



INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND INSTRUCTION 285 

ers could well be permitted to read independently for their 
own pleasure, or occasionally to work as a team and give 
a report of their reading, or a dramatization to the other 
groups. The group that is slow and accurate undoubtedly 
needs speed drills, and large amounts of the extensive type 
of reading. The group that is rapid and inaccurate needs 
training exercises for carefully checking comprehension. 
Those who are slow and inaccurate very likely need to be 
given simpler reading material, and to be instructed under 
methods more akin to the primary reading methods. 

2. Special Grouping within a Room 

Individual differences in rooms. In almost any graded 
school, sufficient individual differences in reading attain- 
ment will be found to justify a grouping different from that 
of the two regular classes in the room. To illustrate how 
this may be done an account will be given of how a two- 
class room of seventh-grade pupils and a two-class room of 
fourth-grade pupils were each reclassified into three groups 
for reading instruction. 

It was thought that the grouping in the intermediate and 
upper grades should be done principally upon the basis of 
silent-reading accomplishment. Three factors were taken 
into account : the teacher's judgment, as indicated by the 
pupil's rating in reading as shown on the pupil's scholar- 
ship record; the pupil's scores in careful silent reading, as 
measured by the Monroe test; and the pupil's scores in 
more rapid silent reading, as measured by " The Magic 
Mask " test, described in the preceding chapter. 

/. Two seventh-grade classes regrouped for reading 

The seventh-grade room consisted of forty-seven pupils. 
The following gives an idea of the grouping of these, and of 



286 



SILENT AND ORAL READING 



the data used in making the regrouping. Only the scores 
for the highest and lowest pupil in each group are given. 



Table V. Data for Regrouping Two Seventh-Grade 

Classes in Reading 







Monroe Test 


Magio Mask Test 


Teacher s Grade 


Group 


Rank 






















Rate 


Corny. 


Rate 


Comp. 


a, b, c, d\ e 


A 


1 


162 


41 


403 


90 


G 


11 














pupils 


11 


133 


30 


233 


80 


a 


B 


1 


133 


27 


234 


100 


c 


20 














pupils 


20 


101 


11 


178 


80 


c 


C 


1 


133 


19 


233 


80 


d 


16 














pupils 


16 


73 


5 


115 


40 


c 



In the main, the rating one would give a pupil on the 
basis of the results of the two tests would be about the same 
as the teacher's rating made previous to the giving of the 
tests. But there are occasional exceptions, as are indicated 
in the tabulation above. For instance, by far the best 
pupil in the room, in so far as the tests indicate, was given 
a grade of c, or average, just a few weeks previously. 
Likewise, the poorest pupil in the room in the tests had been 
given a grade of c by the teacher, while a number of other 
pupils had been given d and one pupil e. In all cases 
where the rating by tests and the rating by the teacher 
differ considerably, special scrutiny should be given to the 
pupil's responses in recitation. In some cases check tests 
should be given. 

Any special regrouping, as indicated in the above table 



INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND INSTRUCTION 287 

of results, should, of course, be subject to an easy shifting 
of pupils from one group to another as the future progress 
of the pupils seems to indicate as desirable. After several 
lessons it was evident that two or three of the pupils from 
the C group should be placed in the B group, and one or two 
shifted from the B group to the C group. 

Classwork after regrouping. A brief account will be 
given of the plan of handling the classwork after the re- 
grouping. The departmental program provides for two 
eighty-minute periods a week in reading for the room. 
Thirty minutes was given to each of the B and C groups, 
and twenty minutes to group A. During the sixty min- 
utes that groups B and C were reciting, group A did in- 
dividual reading or group preparation, in an unused room, 
for a dramatization or report to be rendered to the pu- 
pils of the other groups. This phase of the plan has been 
especially stimulating to the forward group, and has served 
to bring interesting examples of accomplishment before the 
backward group. The following is a partial list of the 
.possible reading activities of a forward group of this type: 

1. Individual reading of books and individual brief reports to 
the other pupils of the room, giving reasons for recommending 
a particular book to them. 

2. Group reading of a story, and telling the story to the other 
pupils. 

S. Group reading of a story, and dramatizing for the other 
pupils. 

4. Group reading of a short play, and dramatic reading from 
the books for the entertainment of the other pupils. 

5. Group reading of a book, each pupil reporting briefly upon a 
chapter or section to the other pupils. 

6. Group vork on illustrative projects, for exhibition during 
oral reading or reporting. 

Most of the pupils in group C are slow readers, and in- 
ferior or poor in comprehension. In addition to training in 



288 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

comprehension, this group is being given speed drills of the 
various types given in Chapter VIII. They have been 
given the Thorndike Visual Vocabulary Test and lessons for 
vocabulary training are being planned. 

Very much easier material than that usually given 
seventh-grade pupils, too, was found necessary for this 
group. Material from The Riverside Fifth Reader (fifth 
grade) has proven to be very interesting, and quite difficult 
enough for experiential content lessons for this group. 
The Intermediate-Grade Series of Lessons in Community 
and National Life l have been used to good advantage for 
training in attacking study problems. An assignment 
containing a series of questions on the sections and para- 
graphs of the different lessons, similar in form to the one 
given on page 176, can be made up on any of these lessons 
to increase the interest in it and to aid in the comprehen- 
sion of it. These Lessons are also very useful for silent- 
reading tests of an informational character. 



II, Two fourth-grade classes regrouped for reading 
The tabulation (Table vi; see page 289) shows a similar 
regrouping for a fourth-grade room of forty-one pupils, 
again only the scores for the highest and lowest pupil in 
each group being given. 

Compare line one in the above tabulation, which is the 
record of the best reader in the room, with the last line, 
which is the record of the poorest reader. The former 
makes an average seventh-grade showing, while the latter 
is below a third-grade average. Such wide individual 
differences within a class make special individual or group 
instruction necessary in order to administer effectively to 
the individual needs of the pupils. 

1 See footnote, page 77. 



INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND INSTRUCTION 289 



Table VI. Data for Regrouping Two Fourth-Grade 

Classes 







Monroe Test 


Magic Mask Test 


Teacher's Grade 


Group 


Rank 




















Rate 


Comp. 


Rate 


Comp. 


a, b, c, a\ e 


A 

8 
pupils 


High 


95 


20.6 


215 


80 


b 


Low 


90 


13.4 


166 


90 


b 


B 

19 

pupils 


High 
Low 


95 
61 


15.9 
11.3 


151 
100 


60 
20 


b I 

d 


C 

14 
pupils 


High 
Low 


76 
41 


13.4 

6.7 


123 

99 


40 
10 


e 
e 



Needed treatment of the problem presented. The oral 
reading as well as the silent reading of this fourth-grade C 
group indicated that these pupils were still in the primary 
reading stage. Consequently, considerable amounts of 
oral reading and phonetic analysis should be done. There 
may be exceptional pupils in this group who will not be 
helped by oral reading. But all of the reports of special 
remedial instruction with this type of pupil indicate that 
the phonetic method quite generally proves helpful. 

The objection is sometimes raised that it will be difficult 
to get interest in a group of this kind owing to the absence 
of those who respond readily. This is likely to be the case 
unless there is a radical readjustment of content and 
method. The writer observed this group in one of the 
most lively reading recitations he ever visited. The teacher 
had wisely secured a set of attractive second readers, and 
given the group the story of " Peter Rabbit " to read. 
There was no difficulty in arousing interest or enthusiasm 



290 SILENT AND ORAL READING 

in the discussion that followed. It was interesting to 
observe that only one of these pupils had ever read this 
story before. The first essential with a group of this kind 
is to provide simple, easy, and interesting material. As 
the group improves in fluency in oral reading, the amount 
of silent reading may be increased. Training exercises in 
rate, in comprehension, and in vocabulary should be used 
frequently. 

Group B of this fourth-grade room has passed beyond 
the primary reading stage. These pupils need only small 
amounts of oral reading. During one recitation period this 
group was carried well into a long story from Grimm, and 
during the following study period they completed reading 
it, a total of about eight thousand words. While some 
training exercises were given to this group, the experiential 
content type of silent reading predominated. 

111. How to handle the reading in a specially regrouped 
second-grade room 

In almost any second- or third-grade room, we shall find 
fluent oral readers with a ready grasp of the content. We 
shall also find the pupils who are more or less characteristic 
of the immature oral reader and who show little ability in 
getting thought from the printed page. Standing between 
these two groups will be a somewhat larger group of about 
normal attainment. A rearrangement of the pupils into 
these three groups makes it possible for the teacher to 
provide more effective reading activities, experiences, and 
training for each of these three types of pupils. 

Using reading tests. While the teacher's Judgment of 
the pupils will be the main factor in determining the group 
each child should be in, certain tests should be given to 
provide supplementary evidence, such as the Pressey group 
vocabulary test, and the Courtis, the Monroe, or the 



INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND INSTRUCTION 291 

Haggerty-Noonan silent-reading test. The Gray oral- 
reading test and the Gray " Tiny Tad " silent-reading test, 
both of which are individual tests, should be given to 
pupils particularly in need of special diagnostic study. 

The reading work of the upper group. The upper group 
consists of those who have attained a smooth fluent oral 
reading. There should be a minimum of oral-reading 
experience and a maximum of silent-reading experience for 
this group. The following types of work are among those 
that are feasible. 

1. Extensive rapid silent reading of long units and of books. 

2. Careful silent reading of exercises requiring written response 
to fact questions and to problems. 

3. Careful silent reading of exercises requiring a drawing, a 
construction, or a similar type of response. 

4. Audience reading to the room preceded by group confer- 
ence and practice. 

This forward group is capable of profiting by more non- 
recitation individual and group activity than the other two 
groups, if the teacher uses the recitation time, allowed this 
group, mainly to direct and stimulate such activities. The 
result of this plan for the forward group will be of much 
greater educational value than the result for them under the 
usual two-class procedure. 

The work of the middle group would be about that for the 
second grade in the chapter on the primary grades. 

The work of the slow group. There will be a maximum 
of phonetic and oral-reading work with the slow group, 
with a variety of plans for building up meaning concepts 
for the printed words, phrases, and sentences. It will be 
necessary to study the individual deficiencies and apply 
suitable remedial treatment. Very easy simple reading 
material should be used until the pupils have improved in 
fluency in oral reading and a ready grasp of the content. 



292 



SILENT AND ORAL READING 



3. The Reading Problem in the Special or Ungraded 

Room 
Many progressive school systems separate the seriously 
backward pupils from the regular classes, and place them in 
special or ungraded classes or rooms. Lack of ability to 
read is one of the reasons for pupils not being able to suc- 
ceed in the content subjects. A large percentage of the 
pupils placed in ungraded classes because of failure to do 
the work of the regular classes are poor readers. The 
following is the record of some poor readers in an ungraded 
room: 
Table VII. Record of Poor Readers in an Ungraded Room 





Age 


From 
Grade 


Teacher's 
Grade 


Standing as shown by tests 


. Pupil 
No. 


Gray's 


Monroe 


Magic Mash 




OralR. 


Rate 


Comp. 


Rate 


Comp. 


1 


14 


4A 


poor 


20 


101 


10 


88 


10 


2 


14 


6A 


inferior 





29 


4 


48 


10 


3 


12 


4B 


poor 


35 


54 


8 


124 





4 


13 


5B 


average 





101 


15 


174 





5 


13 


6B 


inferior 


20 


43 


10 


66 


50 


r 6 


13 


4B 


poor 




54 


10 


112 


70 ! 



Pupils 1 and 2 have speech defects which account for 
their inability to read orally. Pupil 5 was examined in the 
Psycho-Educational Clinic at the age of ten. He was 
reported as normal in intelligence, but as probably having 
visual aphasia, or word-blindness. 1 All of these pupils are 
in need of special expert training in reading. 

1 For an interesting account of cases of this type see Schmitt, Clara. 
"Congenital Word-Blindness, or Inability to Learn to Read"; in Ele- 
mentary School Journal (May, 1918), vol. 18, pp. 680-700. 



INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND INSTRUCTION 293 

Remedial instruction. With over-aged pupils whose 
reading achievement is still in the primary stage, phonics 
and oral reading of easy material have been found to be 
helpful. 1 Some of the pupils whose records are given in 
Table vn have reached only first- or second-grade at- 
tainment in reading. It would not be advisable, though, 
to give them first and second readers. It will be better to 
use books with short sentences, printed somewhat on the 
order of a primer or first reader, but with a content of 
interest to older pupils. The following are some books of 
this type: 

The Four Wonders; Cotton, Wool, Linen, Silk, Shilling. Rand 
;' McNally Company. 

Weavers and Other Workers, Hall. Rand McNally Company. 
Eskimo Stories, Smith. Rand McNally Company. 
Stories of the United States for Young Readers. Ed. Pub. Co. 

In addition to considerable amounts of phonics and oral 
reading, there should be a great deal of retelling of what 
is read and discussion of simple problems. Every effort 
should be made to find out the interests of such pupils and 
provide silent reading that will appeal to them. There 
should be plenty of easy, interesting material for silent 
reading. In the regular classes, these pupils have been 
attempting to read material far beyond their level of reading 
ability. Training exercises for increasing rate, improving 

1 The following references give perhaps the best help we have at the 
present time on methods of improving the reading of seriously backward 
and retarded pupils: 

1. Judd, Charles H. Reading; Its Nature and Development, chap, v, 
"Special Experiments in the Training of Pupils." 

2. Anderson, C. J., and Merton, Elda. "Remedial Work in Reading"; 
in Elementary School Journal (May and June, 1920), vol. 20, pp. 685-701, 
772-91. 

3. Gray, William S. "Individual Difficulties in Silent Reading in the 
Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grades"; in the Twentieth Yearbook of the Na- 
tional Society for the Study of Education, part n. 



"294. SILENT AND ORAL READING 

comprehension, and increasing the silent-reading vocabu- 
lary should be used. 

Every effort possible should be made to provide specific 
purposes for reading. In the manual work, give the boy 
who is interested in making a mechanical toy the printed 
instructions and drawings, and let him try to work out the 
meaning of the reading matter. 1 

Individual differences in rural schools. The principles 
of classification according to reading achievement, as de- 
veloped in this chapter, may readily be applied in one-room 
rural schools. The reading work must necessarily be by 
small groups. The grouping need not be according to the 
regular grade grouping. The ungraded rural school has 
some advantage in this respect over the school of one or 
more rooms to a grade. A pupil who may be regularly 
counted as a fifth-grade pupil in the one-room school should 
be allowed to take reading with the seventh-grade group if 
a series of tests shows him to be of seventh-grade reading 
achievement. 2 

PROBLEMS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Explain what is meant by individual differences by giving some 
illustrative examples. 

2. In regrouping an upper-grade room of pupils for reading instruction, 
why is it better to use silent-reading ability as a basis rather than 
oral reading? 

3. Give arguments against grouping pupils according to ability. 
Give arguments for grouping pupils according to ability. 
What appears to be the main issue in the debate? 

4. Why would one silent-reading test not be sufficient as a basis for 
grouping pupils for reading instruction? 

1 The following is an excellent book for this purpose: The Boy's Book of 
Mechanical Models, by William B. Stout. Little, Brown & Company. 

2 For an interesting account of the use of tests in rural schools see the 
following: "Using Standardized Tests in Rural Schools for Grading 
Purposes," by Supt. Samuel S. Brooks; in Journal of Educational Re- 
search, November, 1920. 



INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND INSTRUCTION 295 

5. Select three standardized reading tests that would give the best 
combined record to use as a basis for grouping third-grade pupils for 
reading instruction. For grouping eighth-grade pupils. 

6. Rank your pupils in order of silent-reading ability. Then give them 
two silent-reading tests and rank them according to the results. 
Compare your subjective ranking with the objective ranking. In 
the cases of marked differences in ranking make a careful study of 
these pupils, and decide which of the rankings is the more nearly 
correct. 

7. Write a brief summary of this chapter. 



SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Bolenius, Emma Miller. Teachers' Manual for the Boys' and 
Girls' Readers. Houghton Mifflin Company. 1919. 

Has valuable suggestions on both silent and oral reading. 

Briggs and Coffman. Reading in Public Schools. Roe Peterson 
Company. 1908. 

In many respects the best special method book on reading, 
but the treatment of silent reading is entirely inadequate. 

Burgess, May Ayres. The Measurement of Silent Reading. 
Russell Sage Foundation, New York. 1921. 

A very important study, with the construction of a new scale. 

Gray, William S. "Principles of Methods in Reading, as Derived 
from Scientific Investigation"; in Eighteenth Yearbook of the 
National Society for the Study of Education, part n. Public 
School Publishing Company, Bloomington, 111. 1919. 

The best brief summary of general principles without illus- 
trative details. Contains latest findings on hygiene of mechan- 
ical make-Up of readers. 

Haliburton, Margaret W., and Smith, Agnes G. Teaching Poetry 
in the Grades. Houghton Mifflin Company. 1911. 

The best brief treatment. Has illustrative lessons for each 
grade. 

Huey, Edmund B. The Psychology and Pedagogy of Reading. 
The Macmillan Company. 1908. 

An excellent general treatment of silent reading based on the 
early .scientific investigations. 

Jenkins, Francis. Reading in the Primary Grades. Houghton 
Mifflin Company. 1915. 

Judd, Charles H. Reading : Its Nature and Development. Sup- 
plementary Educational Monographs, vol. n, no. 4. Depart- 
ment of Education, University of Chicago. 1918. 

Gives the results of a number of research workers. An excel- 
lent analysis of the underlying problems of reading instruction. 

Kendall, Calvin N., and Mirick, George A. How to Teach the 
Fundamental Subjects, chap. II. Houghton Mifflin Company. 
1915. 



298 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 

MacClintock, P. L. Literature in the Elementary School. The 

University of Chicago Press. 1907. 

The best treatment of the different types of literature and 

their use in the different grades of the elementary school. 
McCall, William A. How to Measure in Education. The Mac- 

millan Company. 1921. 
National Society for the Study of Education. Report of the 

Society's Committee on Silent Reading, Twentieth Yearbook, 

part ii. Public School Publishing Company, Bloomington, 

111. 1921. 
O'Brien, John A. Silent Reading. The Macmillan Company. 

1920. 

An account of an extensive research study including a special 

method of training for speed development. 
The St. Louis School Survey, vol. n, part 4. Board of Education, 

St. Louis, Mo. 1916. 

Gives the findings and recommendations as determined 

through the Gray Oral- and Silent-Reading Tests, and by class- 
room observations. 



INDEX 



Ability, to think logically, improving, 
178; individual differences in read- 
ing, 282. 

Accident prevention, need of reading 
material in, 77. 

Action cards, 204. 

Action, literature of, 138. 

Action sentences and directions, 169. 

Adventure, literature of, 138. 

^Esthetic values, appreciation of, 82. 

Aims, specific, 3; and methods in 
primary grades, 33 ; of instruction, 

! in elementary school, summary, 
37; in the intermediate grades, 71. 

Amount and difficulty of literary 
selections, 76. 

Analysis of narratives, 191. 

Application of reading ability to 
everyday problems, 5. 

Appreciation and rate in reading a 
story, 42; how to develop, 80-86; 
of poetry through oral reading, 35. 

Appreciation of literature, 5, 80. 

Appreciation lesson, general method, 
84. 

Articulation and recognition of print- 
ed words, improvement in, 25; 
and comprehension, 26; and rate 
in silent reading, 27. 

Assignments, importance of care in 
making, 121; suggestions for def- 
inite, 122; in illustrative lesson, 
148; in dramatization, 152; speci- 
men for relational thinking, 176. 

Association of meanings, in memo- 
rizing, 91. 

Attainment, variability in the inter- 
mediate grades, 69; variability in 
upper grades, 74. 

Audience reading, as an aim, 38; in 
the primary grades, 57; in the in- 
termediate grades, 71, 72; in the 
upper grades, 78; types, 100-110; 
books for, 105, 106. 



Barnes Primer, 170. 

Barnes Second Reader, 58, 260. 

Barr Diagnostic Test in American 

History, 181. 
Beginning stage, problems of, 38. 
"Bells, The," vocabulary lesson on, 

Poe's, 197. 
Blackboard steps, 41, 43. 
Bobbitt, Franklin, quoted, 67, 68, 

74, 75. 
Bolenius, Emma M., 88, 185, 186, 

189, 192, 223. 
Bolenius Readers tests, 263. 
Boys' and Girls' Readers, 88, 185, 

186, 189, 192, 223, 263. 
Briggs and Coffman, 115, 150, 154, 

192. 
Bryant, Sara Cone, quoted, 155. 
Burgess Scale, for measuring ability 

in silent-reading, 230. 
Buswell, Dr., upon relation between 

oral and silent reading, 15. 

Cards, flash-, 30, 214; for phrase- 
flashing, 56; third -grade drill, 204 
-206; paragraph, 214. 

Cautions, in matter of developing 
appreciation, 85. 

Cedar Rapids silent-reading exer- 
cises, 209. 

Central thought, training to grasp, 
193. 

Charters, W. W., 81, 139. 

Children's Classics in Dramatic 
Form, 106, 156. 

Chubb, Percival, quoted, 76, 89. 

Cobb, Irvin, quoted, 138. 

Class use, books for extensive read- 
ing by grades, 140. 

Classification of silent-reading les- 
sons, 118; special, 284. 

Community life, readings in, 77. 

Comprehension and rate, 16; and 
rapidity, 16; and articulation, 27; 



300 



INDEX 



emphasis in second and third 
grades, 60; plans for improving, 
168; three main forms of, 172; an 
experiment in factual, 174; pupils' 
difficulties in, 179; of organization, 
training in, 183; of words and 
phrases, lesson to test and develop, 
210; measures of, 226, 230, 235, 
238, 241, 243, 277. 

Confusion, due to failure in recogni- 
tion, 9. 

Content, problems concerning, 3; 
of beginning lessons, 39; emphasis 
on, 65; types in the intermediate 
grades, 67; in the upper grades, 74, 
77, 78. 

Content silent-reading lessons, 112, 
119. 

Content lessons, compared with 
training lessons, 161. 

Content-value, choosing material 
for, 76. J 

Contrast, between content and train- 
ing lessons, 161. 

Courtis's silent-reading test, 21, 236. 

Criterion for choosing literary units, 
75. 

Cumulative story, the, 172. 

Current events, 77. 

Curves of progress in rate — Gray, 
Courtis, and Starch, 22; O'Brien, 
23; significance of Gray's, 69; sig- 
nificance of O'Brien's, 73. 

"Cut-up story," the, 108. 

"Daffodils," Wordsworth's, 92. 

Definite assignments, suggestions 
upon making, 122. 

Developing appreciation, general sug- 
gestions upon, 85. 

Differences, between oral and silent 
reading, 117; individual, 69, 282; 
in rural schools, individual, 294. 

Difficulty, and amount, of literary 
selections, 76. 

Dime-novel age, the, 139. 

Direction sentences, for silent read- 
ing as seat work, 169. 

Dramatic audience reading, 106. 

Dramatization, problems in silent 
reading, 152; value of, 153. 'ft 



Drawing correlation of illustrations 
with, 148. 

Drill work in third-grade silent read- 
ing, motivated, 204; on words, 212; 
on phrases, 56, 161, 213. 

Earhart, Lida B., quoted, 80. 

Early primer methods, 39. 

Eighth grade, problem silent-reading 
lessons, 135, 149; lesson in out- 
lining, 187; reading exercise in his- 
tory, 181; silent reading in gram- 
mar exercises, 182; books for 
silent reading, 139, 142; poems to 
memorize, 96. 

Elson Grammar-School Reader, 146, 
162. 

Emphasis on developing speed and 
improving comprehension, 69; 
where to be placed in silent read- 
ing, 119. 

Environment, introductory reading 
matter related to the child's, 45. 

Errors, types in oral reading, 53. 

Examination, Haggerty-Noonan 
reading, 242, 244. 

Experiment, in factual comprehen- 
sion, an, 174; in relation to rate 
and comprehension, 16. 

Exposition, summing up, 184. 

Expression, development of oral, 37; 
reading with, 53. 

Extensive reading, in second and 
third grades, 59; in middle and 
upper grades, 66, 74; list of books 
for class use in, 140. 

Eye-movements, importance of, 6; 
good and bad contrasted, 8; illus- 
trations of, 10, 11, 12, 13; oral 
reading in relation to, 35, 53 ; devel- 
opment of proper habits, 55, 162. 

Eye-pause, or fixation, 7, 8, 11. 

Eye- voice span, the, 12-14 . 

Factors affecting silent reading, 19; 
in the development of speed, 20. 

Factual comprehension, an experi- 
ment in, 174. 

Factual questions, 172. 

Failure to awaken appreciation, 
causes of, 80. 



INDEX 



301 



Fifth grade, illustrative silent-read- 
ing lessons in, 128, 165, 185, 192; 
book for silent-reading lessons, 
141; illustrative problems, 144; 
silent-reading test of rate and com- 
prehension in, 274. 

First grade, silent reading in the 
58; Pressey-Skeel group test for 
measuring reading vocabulary in, 
249. 

Fixation, or eye-pause, 7, 8, 11. 

Formulation of problems, impor- 
tance of, 123. 

Fourth grade, radically different 
methods in, 64; a dramatic audi- 
ence-reading lesson in, 106; illus- 
trative silent-reading lessons in, 
125, 126, 157, 164, 184, 289; illus- 
trative problems, 144; illustration 
of cuttings, opposite 150; silent- 
reading test in, 265; classes re- 
grouped for reading, 288. 

Freeman, F. N., quoted, 26, 44. 

Game, drill, 205. 

Gardenville School, St. Louis, re- 
sults of use of tests, 254. 

General method, of appreciation 
lesson, 84. 

Geography, silent-reading lesson in 
sixth grade, 180. 

Grades, problems in second and third, 
54; silent reading in first and sec- 
ond, 58; extensive reading in sec- 
ond and third, 59; extensive read- 
ing in middle and upper, 66; vari- 
ability in reading attainment in 
upper, 74; books for class-room 
use in extensive silent reading, 
140; Haggerty-Noonan test for 
primary, 242. 

Grammar exercises, silent reading in, 
182. 

Gray, C. T., quoted, 30. 

Gray oral-reading test, 219. 

Gray Silent-Reading Tests, 234. 

Gray, Dr. William S., quoted, 22, 49, 
52, 60, 64, 112, 114, 293. 

Group reading, 155; special plans for, 
156. 

Group Tests, 253. 



Group work, in making paragraph 

headings, 190. 
Grouping, special, 285. 
Group-to-group audience reading, 

101; recitation, 103. 

Haggerty-Noonan reading examina- 
tion, 242, 244. 

Haliburton and Smith, referred to, 
87, 90, 99. 

Headings, making and matching, 
190; training in reading newspa- 
per, 190. 

Hearing — reading tests, 223. 

History, silent reading exercise in, 181. 

Holley sentence vocabulary scale, 
249. 

Holton Primer, 170. 

Horn, Ernest, referred to, 117. 

"How I Killed a Bear," Warner's, 
131. 

Huey, E. B., referred to, 6, 28. 

Humorous, appreciation of the, 83. 

Illustrated audience reading, 108. 

Illustrating nursery rhymes, direc- 
tions for, 207. 

Illustration, selection of units suit- 
able for, 151. 

Illustrations, types of, 147; purposes 
of, 147; correlated with drawing, 
148. 

Illustrations made by groups of pu- 
pils, reproductions, opposite 150. 

Illustrative silent-reading lessons, 
125, 128, 131, 135. 

Importance of oral reading, in the 
lower grades, 33. 

Improvement, through use of tests, 
254. 

Improving comprehension, plans for, 
168. 

Increase of rate, re-reading for, 161, 
166; devices for, 161-168; O'Brien's 
types of training for, 167. 

Individual and group-reading, 155- 
159. 

Individual differences, 69, 282; in 
rural schools, 294. 

Individual needs, grouping by, 70, 
284. 



302 



INDEX 



Individual Tests, 254. 

Informational material, 67, 77, 172. 

Inner speech, the natural tendency 
to suppressed tone in silent read- 
ing, 26. 

Interesting books for boys, lists re- 
ported by largest cities, 139. 

Interest, problem of securing, 4. 

Intermediate and Upper Grades, 
teaching reading in, 64. 

Intermediate grades, oral reading in, 
70, 77; summary of work in teach- 
ing reading, 71; literature chosen 
for, 75; Haggerty reading exam- 
inations for, 243; variability in, 
282. 

Iowa City silent reading exercises, 
209. 

Jenkins, Frances, referred to, 28, 30. 
Jones vocabulary test, 222. 
Judd, Charles H., 9, 16, 69, 115, 199, 
258, 282, 293. 

Kendall and Mirick, quoted, 59, 62, 
77, 113, 115. 

Language Response Cards, 205. 

Lessons in community and national 
life, 77, 288. 

Lewis and Roland Silent Readers, 200. 

Library, use of room, 159. 

listening powers, how to test, 223. 

Lists, of poems for memory work, 93 ; 
of books for group-to-group audi- 
ence reading, 105; of books most 
popular with boys, 139; of books 
for class use in extensive : reading, 
140; of selections for silent read- 
ing, arranged by grades, 142. 

Literature, appreciation of, 5; choice 
of, in intermediate grades, 75. 

McCatl, William A., referred to, 241. 
McMurry, F. M., quoted, 124. 
"Magic Mask, The," 274. 
"Man without a Country, The," 

Hale's, 135. 
Meaning, expression in first grade, 

53; association of, 91; training to 

grasp essential, 193. 



Measurement, Burgess theory of, 
230. 

Measuring comprehension, 226, 230, 
235, 238, 241, 243, 277. 

Measuring rate, 227, 235, 238, 276. 

Measuring understanding of sen- 
tences, Thorndike scale, 240. 

Memorization, 80, 90; lists of poems 
for, 93. 

Merrill Fourth Reader, 152. 

Merrill Primer, the, 43, 44. 

Method, early primer, 39; of appre- 
ciation lesson, 84; in teaching po- 
etry, references for, 87; in teaching 
memorizing, 90; memorizing, con- 
trasted, 91; combined, 92. 

Monroe, W. S., referred to, 20, 178, 
259. 

Monroe Standardized General Sur- 
vey Silent-Reading Tests, 225. 

Monroe Standardized Reading Tests, 
206. 

Mother-Goose type of primer, 42. 

Motivated drill work in silent-read- 
ing, third grade, 204. 

Motivation, 4. y 

National life, readings in, 77. 

Natural Method Primer, 42. 

Natural Method Readers, 88. 

Nature of appreciation, the, 81. 

Nature phenomena, appreciation of, 
84. 

Newspaper headings, training in 
reading, 190. 

Newspapers, class exercise with, 191. 

Norms, comparison of rate, 21. 

Notes, making running, 189. 

Nursery-rhyme type of primer, 43. 

Nursery rhymes, directions for il- 
lustrating, 207. 

O'Brien, Dr. John A., conclusions as 
to effect of increased speed upon 
comprehension, 18; quoted, 72, 
167. 

One-word response cards, 205. 

Oral and silent reading, relation be- 
tween, 15; relative value of, 33; 
essential differences between, 115, 
117. 



INDEX 



303 



Oral exercise in English, 182. 

Oral reading, a slower process than 
silent, 24; importance of, in lower 
grades, 33; poetry, 35; social value 
of, 36; errors in, 53; types of, 55, 
99 ; in the intermediate grades, 70, 
in the upper grades, 77; over-em- 
phasis of, 114. 

Oral-reading stage, the, 52. 

Oral reading test, Gray's, 219. 

Organization, training in compre- 
hension of, 183-195. 

Outline, specimen of, 192. 

Outlines, 184, 187. 

Over-emphasis of oral reading, 114. 

Paragraph cards, 214. 

Paragraph headings, making and 

matching, 190. 
Parker, S. C, referred to, 91. 
Pauses per line, 9. 
Perception in reading, visual, 27. 
Perspective view of whole poem, 87. 
Phonetic rules, 212. 
Phonic drill, the danger in, 51. 
Phonics, 49-51. 
Phrase-flashing, 56, 161, 213. 
Phrases, drill on, 213. 
Pintner, R., referred to, 26. 
Plans, for the silent-reading lesson, 

119; for grouping, 156; for im- 
proving comprehension, 168. 
Poems, in oral reading, 35 ; studied by 

parts, 88; for memory work, lists 

of, 93. 
Poetry, the teaching of, 87. 
Poor method in silent reading, 129. 
Poor reading habits, the result of 

undesirable type of lessons in 

school, 113. 
Pressey-Skeel group test, first grade, 

249, 252. 
Pretense cards, 205. 
Primary stage, the, 52. 
Primary grades, Haggerty-Noonan 

test for, 242. 
Primer, the simple-story, 40. 
Primer methods, 39. 
Primers, summary of conclusions 

regarding, 44. 
Problems in reading instruction, 2; 



of the beginning stage, 38; of sec- 
ond and third grades, 54; charac- 
teristic of good, 120; formulated 
by pupils, 123; illustrative state- 
ment of, 131; solution, 132. 

Progressive Road to Reading, 41. 

Pronunciation, ten phonetic rules of, 
212. 

Proportion of time, given to silent 
reading, 115-116. 

Pupils, formulation of problems by, 
123. 

Purposes of training lesson, 161. 

Questions, difficulties in formulating 
test, 265. 

Questions and answers, specimen^ 
with criticism, 269, 271. 

Questions in reading tests, score 
values of, 273; specimen compre- 
hension, 277. 

Questions, problem and factual, 120. 

Rapidity and comprehension, 16. 

Rate, and comprehension, 16, 18; of 
reading, standards in, 20; of silent 
reading, 19; and articulation, 27; 
in oral reading, 52, 221; devices 
for increasing, 161-168; re-read- 
ing for increase of, 166; meth- 
ods of measuring, 227, 235, 238, 
276. 

Rate norms, comparison of the O'Bri- 
en, Gray, Courtis, and Starch, 21. 

Reading to pupils, 110. 

Reading ability, individual differ- 
ences in, 282. 

Reading tests, 217; selection of, 253; 
score value of questions in, 273 ; in 
rural schools, 279; in second-grade, 
290. 

Reading-Literature Primer, the, 40. 

Recall, as a factor in memorizing, 92. 

Records, time on reading outside of 
recitation, 166. 

Red-blooded material, value of, 138. 

Regressive movements, of the eye, 9. 

Relation between oral and silent 
reading, 8, 15, 25, 33. 

Relational questions, proper state- 
ment of, 176. 



304 



INDEX 



Relational thinking, training in, 175. 

Relationship between words, drill of 
pupils in, 202. 

Remedial instruction, 293. 

Remedial training work, types of, 
212. 

Remedial treatment, suggested by- 
study of tests, 258. 

Representation, problems of illustra- 
tive, 147. 

Reproduction and silent reading, 
171. 

Re-reading, for increase of rate, 166; 
verifying answers by careful, 178. 

Results in reading, more satisfactory 
in primary than in middle and 
upper grades, 1. 

Rhythmical movement, of the eye in 
reading, 9. 

"Rip Van Winkle" an illustrated 
eighth-grade lesson, 149. 

Riverside Readers, 88. 

Riverside Primer, the, 40, 44, 61. 

Riverside First Reader, the, 61. 

Riverside Fourth Reader, 126, 164, 
265. 

Riverside Fifth Reader, 165, 274, 288. 

"Robin Hood," series of silent read- 
ing lessons in, 128. 

Room, special grouping within a, 285. 

Room library, use of, 159. 

Rugg, H. O., referred to, 274. 

Rules of pronunciation, listing words 
according to phonetic, 212. 

Rural schools, use of reading tests in, 
279 ; individual differences in, 294. 

St. Louis, Course of study in reading, 

36, 60, 110, 114; report of school 

survey, 16, 53, 112. 
Scale, of reading ability for first four 

grades, 208. 
Scale, Holley sentence vocabulary, 

the, 249. 
Scale, Thorndike-McCall, the, 240. 
Scales, Thorndike visual vocabulary, 

246. 
Schmidt, W. A., referred to, 8. 
Schmitt, Clara, referred to, 292. 
Score values of questions, in reading 

tests, 273. 



Seat work, 169. 

Second grade, silent reading in, 58; 
extensive reading in, 59; impro- 
vised silent-reading test in, 259. 

Second and third grades, main prob- 
lems in, 54. 

Second-grade classes specially 
grouped for reading, 290. 

Selection of poems, the, 97. 

Selections for silent reading, ar- 
ranged by grades, 142. 

Sentence vocabulary scale, Holley, 
249. 

Series, of fifth-grade silent reading 
lessons, illustrative, 128; of eighth- 
grade recitations, 135. 

Seventh-grade, silent-reading lessons 
in, 131, 151, 197; study of re- 
grouping of two classes in, 285; 
books for silent reading lessons, 
141; illustrative problems, 145; 
poems to memorize, 96. . 

Sharp, Dallas Lore, nature series, 
104. 

Silent reading, 58; importance em- 
phasized, 2; exercises in latest 
type, 204; Cedar Rapids and Iowa 
City, exercises in, 209; rate of, 19; 
should predominate in the middle 
grades, 64; training in, 68, 130; 
extensive, 74; proportion of time 
given to, 115; method, more than 
training exercises, 117; group work 
in, 155; individual, 157; and re- 
production, 171; in grammar ex- 
ercises, 182; factors in testing, 224; 
Monroe, tests in, 225; Burgess 
scale for measuring ability in, 
230; Gray, tests in, 234; Courtis's 
test in, 236; improvised test, for 
second grade, 259; fourth-grade 
test, 265; rate and comprehension r 
fifth-grade test in, 274. 

Silent-reading lessons, in primary 
grades, 58, 169, 207, 209 ; classfied, 
118; third grade, 204; fourth grade, 
125, 126, 157, 164; fifth grade, 128, 

185, 192; sixth grade, 174, 180, 

186, 189, 198, 200; illustrative, 
seventh grade, 131, 151, 197; 
illustrative, eighth grade, 135, 



INDEX 



305 



149, 187; in geography, ISO; in 
history, 181; O'Brien's, 167; selec- 
tions, by grades, 142. 

Simple-story primer, the, 40. 

Sixth grade, silent-reading lessons, 
174, 180, 186, 189, 198, 200; study 
of individual differences, 282; 
books for silent-reading lessons, 
141; illustrative problems, 145; 
poems to memorize, 96. 

Skimming, 166. 

Slow-approach primers, 41, 42. 

Social studies, directions for illus- 
trating, 208. 

Social value of oral reading, 36, 82. 

Socialized study and recitation, 37. 

Span, eye-voice, analysis of, 14. 

Special grouping, 285. 

Speed, and comprehension, experi- 
ment in observing, 17; O'Brien's 
conclusions as to effect of increased 
speed, 18; factors in the develop- 
ment of, 20; development of, in 
the upper grades, 72; O'Brien's 
three types of training for, 167. 

Stages of development in reading 
ability, 3. 

Standards in rate of reading, 20. 

Standardized tests, studies of the 
results of use, 254. 

Starch, Daniel, referred to, 235. 

Steps in illustrating reading lessons, 
148. 

Stories, directions for illustrating, 
207. 

Story-Hour Primer, 42. 

Stray er and Norsworthy, quoted, 
82, 85, 92. 

Studies in Reading, 88. 

Study, and reading, the close relation 
between, 5, 68; and silent reading, 
130. 

Suggestions, on developing apprecia- 
tion, 85; on when to use oral or 
silent reading method, 118. 

Summary, of conclusions regarding 
primers, 44; upper-grade work, 78. 

Summers Primer, the, 45. 

Survey, St. Louis, 16, 53, 112; Cleve- 
land, 16. 

Suzzallo, Henry, quoted, 34. 



Synopsis, study of, 192. 
Synthesis, in study of a poem, 90. 

Teaching of Reading, the, 122. 

Telling the story, 171. 

Testing, in oral and silent reading, 
3; silent-reading, factors in, 224; 
reading, summary of conclusions, 
278. 

Tests, use in improving reading, 217; 
of silent reading, necessity of using 
several, 225; Haggerty-Noonan, 
242; vocabulary, 222, 243, 246, 
249; Pressey-Skeel, 249; reading, 
comparison of, 253; improvised 
silent-reading, for second-grade, 
259; Bolenius, 263; fourth-grade 
silent-reading, 265, 272; score 
values of questions in reading, 
273; of rate and comprehension, 
fifth-grade silent-reading, 274; in 
rural schools, reading, 279; in sec- 
ond-grade, 290; lists of, 217-219. 

Thinking, in reading and study, 178. 

Third grade, extensive reading in, 
59; motivated drill work in silent 
reading in, 204. 

Thorndike, E. L., 173, 178. 

Thorndike scale, the, 240. 

Thought units, increasingly larger, 
61. 

Time limit, reading under a, 163. 

Timing the pupil's reading, 165. 

Too-slow group, the, 60. 

Topical audience reading, 107. 

Topical outline, 185. 

Toys, directions for constructing, 
208. 

Trabue, M. R.', quoted, 248. 

Training, for speed. O'Brien's three 
types of, 167; in relational think- 
ing, 175; in comprehension of or- 
ganization, 183. 

Training exercises in silent reading 
in geography, 179. 

Training lessons in silent reading, 
161. 

Types, of oral reading, 55, 99; of 
comprehension reading, 172; of 
Silent-Reading Exercises, Latest, 
204 ; of remedial training work, 212. 



306 



INDEX 



Ungraded room, the reading prob- 
lem, 292. 

Units suitable for illustration, 151. 

Upper Grades, the, 72, 78; Hag- 
gerty reading examinations for, 
243. 

Use of reading tests in improving 
reading, 217. 

Value, relative, of oral and silent 
reading, -33; of questions in score, 
273. 

Values, emphasis on the major, 65, 
119. 

Variability, in attainment, 74; in 
intermediate grades, 282. 

Verifying answers, by careful re- 
reading, 178. 

Visual perception in reading, 27. 

Visual vocabulary scales, Thorndike, 
246. 



Vocabulary, problems concerning, 
4; in primary grades, 34, 61; word- 
study for meaning, 66; training 
lessons in, 195-203; growth 
through experience, 195; problem 
lessons, 196, 198; scales and tests 
— Jones, 222; Haggerty, 243; 
Thorndike, 246; Holley, 249; 
Pressey, 249. 

Vocabularies, building up, 214. 

Vocalization, 26. 

Vocational interest, 77. 

Voice, improvement in use of, 37. 

Word study, systematic, 66, 198. 
Words, meanings of, 177. 
Written reproduction, 171. 

Yearbooks, of National Society for 
study of education, referred to, 6, 
19, 22, 45, 49, 72, 209, 223. 



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THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE COMMON BRANCHES. 

By F. N. Freeman. 

DISCIPLINE AS A SCHOOL PROBLEM. 
By A. C. Perry, Jr. 

AN INTRODUCTION TO EDUCATIONAL SOCIOLOGY, 

By W. R. Smith, Kansas State Normal School. 

TRAINING FOR EFFECTIVE STUDY. 

By F. W, Thomas, State Normal School, Fresno, California, 

AN INTRODUCTION TO CHILD PSYCHOLOGY. 

By C. W. Waddle, Ph.D., Los Angeles State Normal School. 

History of Education 

THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION. 

By E. P. Cubberley. 

A BRIEF HISTORY OF EDUCATION. 
By E. P. Cubberley. 

READINGS IN THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION. 

By E. P. Cubberley. 

PUBLIC EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES. 
By E. P. Cubberley. 

Administration and Supervision of Schools 

HEALTHFUL SCHOOLS: HOW TO BUILD, EQUIP, AND MAIK 
TAIN THEM. 

By May Ayres, J. F. Williams, M.D., University of Cincinnati, and T. D 
Wood, A.M., M.D., Teachers College, Columbia University. 

PUBLIC SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION. 

By E. P. Cubberley. 

RURAL LIFE AND EDUCATION. 

By E. P. Cubberley. 

HEALTH WORK IN THE SCHOOLS. 

By E. B. Hoag, M.D., and L. M. Terman, Leland Stanford Junior University, 

MEASURING THE RESULTS OF TEACHING, 
By W. S. Monroe, University of Illinois. 

1926 a 



EDUCATIONAL TESTS AND MEASUREMENTS. 
By W. S. Monroe, J. C. DeVoss, Kansas State Normal School; and F. J 
Kelly, University of Kansas. 

THE SUPERVISION OF INSTRUCTION. 
By H. W. Nutt, University of Kansas. 

STATISTICAL METHODS APPLIED TO EDUCATION. 
By H. O. Rugc, University of Chicago. 

CLASSROOM ORGANIZATION AND CONTROL. 

By J. B. Sears, Leland Stanford Junior University. 

A HANDBOOK FOR RURAL SCHOOL OFFICERS. 

By N. D. Showalter, Washington State Normal School. 

THE HYGIENE OF THE SCHOOL CHILD. 
By L. M. Terman. 

THE MEASUREMENT OF INTELLIGENCE. 
By L. M. Terman. 

Test Material for the Measurement of Intelligence. Record Booklets for the 
Measurement of Intelligence. 

THE INTELLIGENCE OF SCHOOL CHILDREN. 
By L. M. Terman. 

Methods of Teaching 

TEACHING LITERATURE IN THE GRAMMAR GRADES AND HIGH 
SCHOOL. 

By Emma M. Bolenius. 

HOW TO TEACH THE FUNDAMENTAL SUBJECTS. 
By C. N. Kendall and G. A. Mirick. 

HOW TO TEACH THE SPECIAL SUBJECTS. 
By C. N. Kendall and G. A. Mirick. 

SILENT AND ORAL READING. 
By C R. Stonb. 

THE TEACHING OF SCIENCE IN THE ELEA1ENTARY SCHOOL. 
By G. H. Trafton, State Normal School, Mankato, Minnesota. 

TEACHING IN RURAL SCHOOLS. 
By T. J. Woofter, University of Georgia. 

Secondary Education 

THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL. 

By Twos. H. Briggs, Columbia University. 

THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH IN THE SECONDARY SCHOOL, 
By Charles Swain Thomas. 

PRINCIPLES OF SECONDARY EDUCATION. 
By Alexander Inglis, Harvard University. 

PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION. 
By David Snedden, Columbia University. 

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

iv6b 









The Boys f and Girls* Readers 

By EMMA MILLER BOLENIUS 
** Train your Pupils in Silent Reading** 



Fourth Reader Sixth Reader 

Fifth Reader Teachers' Manual 



C A series of basal readers for the Fourth, Fifth, and 
Sixth Grades — • the crucial years in gaining skill in silent 
reading, and fluency in oral reading. 

C Miss Bolenius, widely recognized as an expert, has been 
guided by her study of the most authoritative and up-to-date 
reports, investigations, courses of study, and surveys. 

C. In the three Readers there is full study equipment 
with each article, story, or poem. Into this equipment, 
the editor has succeeded in bringing her own personal touch* 
She makes reading a delight for both pupil and teacher. 

C Four major objects of the Bolenius Readers are: 

(i) To direct silent reading, (2) To motivate oral reading, 
(3) To develop the reading habit in children, and (4) Tc 
broaden the child's outlook on life. 

€L Practical everyday reading of various kinds is stressed. 
The illustrations are full of teaching value and appeal. 
Typographical aids make reading easier for the child. How 
to study is given special attention, and supervised study 
has been developed in an entirely new way. 

H In the Teachers' Manual there is help so concrete that 
even inexperienced teachers will secure results. It presents 
a practical methodology for silent reading. 



HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



021 775 092 1 



